Atheists on TV/in movies!

Dave!

Hey folks,

For a bit of light-hearted fun , can anybody think of TV or movie characters that are atheists?

I'm watching the show Dexter at the moment and he has said a few times "if I believed in god... if I believed in hell...", etc.

Sounds to me like an atheist

Any others come to mind?

Zombrex

Wasn't Grishem in CSI Las Vegas (or just CSI to those who say Miami and NY never happened .. all a dream ... stop talking Caruso! STOP TALKING!!) an atheist?

karlr42

Most people in the Star Trek universe? see here

Malari

Dave! wrote: »

Hey folks,

For a bit of light-hearted fun , can anybody think of TV or movie characters that are atheists?

I'm watching the show Dexter at the moment and he has said a few times "if I believed in god... if I believed in hell...", etc.

Sounds to me like an atheist

Any others come to mind?

Been watching House lately and he is definitely an unbeliever!

Dr. House: You can have all the faith you want in spirits, and the afterlife, and heaven and hell, but when it comes to this world, don't be an idiot. Cause you can tell me you put your faith in God to get you through the day, but when it comes time to cross the street, I know you look both ways.

Charlie3dan

Father Dougal Maguire from Father Ted!

Bishop Facks: So, Father. Do you ever have any doubts about the religious life? Is your faith ever tested? Anything you would be worried about? Any doubts you've been having about any aspects of belief? Anything like that?
Father Dougal: Well, you know the way God made us all, right? And he's looking down at us from heaven and everything?
Bishop Facks: Uh-huh.
[nods]
Father Dougal: And then his son came down and saved everyone and all that?
Bishop Facks: Yes.
Father Dougal: And when we die we're all going to go to heaven?
Bishop Facks: Yes. What about it?
Father Dougal: Well, that's the bit I have trouble with.
***********************************************

Father Ted: It's not as if everyone's going to go off and join some mad religious cult just because we go off for a picnic for a couple of hours.
Father Dougal: God, Ted, I heard about those cults. Everyone dressing in black and saying our Lord's gonna come back and judge us all!
Father Ted: No... No, Dougal, that's us. That's Catholicism.

*************************************************************
Father Dougal: Come on, Ted. Sure it's no more peculiar than all that stuff we learned in the seminary, you know, Heaven and Hell and everlasting life and all that type of thing. You're not meant to take it seriously, Ted!

Zombrex

Malari wrote: »

You can have all the faith you want in spirits, and the afterlife, and heaven and hell, but when it comes to this world, don't be an idiot.

LOL, I think I might use that as my new sig

Soul Winner

Wicknight wrote: »

LOL, I think I might use that as my new sig

Don't forget to finish it Wick, "when it comes to crossing the street, I know you look both ways." Text out of context is error remember

Malari

Wicknight wrote: »

LOL, I think I might use that as my new sig

There's plenty more where that came from - look at Wikiquote.

I like when his boss is giving out to him and he says "quick, god, smite the evil witch!" She's obviously still standing there, so he says "god, why have you forsaken me?"

Galvasean

One or two of the characters in The Mist seemed to be atheists.
However one guy's quote really stuck with me,
"Look lady, I believe in God too, I just don't think he's the psychopath you make him out to be."

MrPudding

Wicknight wrote: »

LOL, I think I might use that as my new sig

House is my favorite TV godless heathen. You will get a sig worthy quote every episode.

MrP

ChocolateSauce

In Bones, Dr. Brennan and Zack are both outspoken atheists.

Seconded, most people in Star Trek, but Cptn. Picard explicitly attacked religion and organised religion in one episode, when he inadvertently became revered as a god on a primitive planet. He said religion led to war and intolerance and said he was not willing to let one develop on that world, and he set about nipping it in the bud. The entire episode of scathingly anti-religious.

c0rk3r

The Man from Earth

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0756683/

Malari

Just thought of another one - Jodie Foster's character in Contact. They didn't want her going in the spaceship they built because she was an atheist and didn't represent the views of most Amercians :pac: I think she's an atheist in real life too.

pH

Zillah

theozster wrote: »

Seconded, most people in Star Trek, but Cptn. Picard explicitly attacked religion and organised religion in one episode

Didn't he state that he believes there must be some grand answer to the universe and that it would be something that transcends notions of God, life, death, atheism etc.

I remember it being a disappointingly wishy washy answer.

bogwalrus

c0rk3r wrote: »

The Man from Earth

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0756683/

now that was a peculiar watch.



On another note i was searching for a quote by charlie sheen that i believe i heard on his tv show "2 and a half men" but instead i found the exact opposite.

http://www.atheists.org/action/alert-25-apr-2006.html

A movie i can def think of is "the golden compass".

lugha

I’m surprised that you get any at all, especially in American TV shows and movies. Just as you don’t get overtly atheist politicians. Note a good commercial / political move respectively.

lugha

I just watched "O Brother Where Art Thou? tonight and I guess the Everett character (George Clooney) would be one of us. Though I expect some would disagree with his brief resort to prayer at one point.

Dave!

Is that film any good? I [aquired it by legitimate means], but haven't gotten around to watching it yet

lugha

Well I don’t usually seek or offer views on films. Subjective opinion and all that …

But its terrific! Coen brothers at their best.

ixoy

ChocolateSauce wrote: »

In Bones, Dr. Brennan and Zack are both outspoken atheists.

Yup, but they're countered by Booth who is a strong Christian and Angela who is spiritual. So atheism isn't put on a greater footing as a result although it's still an unusually strong representation in a prime-time US show.

Star Trek, for the most part, just ignores human religions and isn't a major proponent or denouncer of those religions.

House though is just awesome and couldn't give a crap about anyone's beliefs

Dave!

House gets a higher rating than Dexter on TV.com and imdb! :eek: Definitely gonna have to check it out...

Wreck

First one that came to mind was Andy Millman, Ricky Gervais' character in Extras. Not surprising since he's based on Ricky who is an atheist in real life.

robindch

Douglas Adams' characters are a pretty godless bunch too

Speaking of which, Geoffrey Perkins, who produced the original Hitchhikers radio show (and Father Ted and much else), died in a road accident last Friday (see here and here). UK comedy's going to have a hard time replacing him.

OK-Cancel-Apply

The Joker!

Bottle_of_Smoke

Daniel Plainview in "there will be blood"

Jeremy & Mark in Peep Show

ChocolateSauce

Zillah wrote: »

Didn't he state that he believes there must be some grand answer to the universe and that it would be something that transcends notions of God, life, death, atheism etc.

I remember it being a disappointingly wishy washy answer.

I'm sure he did (I haven't seen that one), but a grand answer in no way implies theism of any kind. I think there is a grand answer, an expression or mathematical system which explains how the universe works. Einstein did too. Q is an apparently omnipotent being, but he is no god, by his own admission.

House is my favourite TV character at the moment. Anyone who picks on someone for being a black Mormon is okay in my books!

Almost all the main the characters in Buffy and Angel are agnostics or atheists, although it is very hard to touch upon these issues when there are demons, magic, higher powers, gods, and evil forces everywhere. One thing is sure, they're not monotheistic. Willow, who is Wiccan, can be excused for being so considering it actually works in the Buffyverse.

Vokes

Not a fictional character - but the actor Cillian Murphy became an athiest after working on the film, Sunshine.

http://www.hollywood.com/news/Murphy_Turns_Atheist_After_Work_on_Sci_Fi_Thriller/3673810

PDN

http://www.amazon.com/Stalin-Robert-Duvall/dp/6302681634

lugha

Frasier (and Niles) in Frasier aren't but should be imo.

Zombrex

PDN wrote: »

http://www.amazon.com/Stalin-Robert-Duvall/dp/6302681634

Wow, Robert Duvall looks freakishly like Stalin .... I wonder .... wait a minute ... oh my go .. arraggh ... the truth! .... set free! ... arrraggh .. [inaudible blood gargle]


sorry, been re-reading Archangel recently.