Still working on that, but definitely George Carlin will be on the list.
Sagan was also a good choice, as is Bertrand Russell, Spinoza, John Lennon for some of his lyrics is also a good choice. Einstein, I admire for his outspokenness at that time, but atheism or any real tenet was not really his focus. Carlin's wit was amazing, & he nailed it so often.
john lennon paul mcartney jim morrison castro hugo chavez evo morales gorbachov chris hadfield my uncle simon
My first exposure to freethought was through the lecutres of Robert Green Ingersoll, and it was he who introduced me to my hero, Thomas Paine, the deist who eschewed all religions and who said, "My own mind is my own church," and who participated in two revolutions, thought slavery should have been eliminated in the Constitution, devised what we today call Social Security, designed an ingenious steel truss bridge, and who wrote Common Sense, The Crisis, The Rights of Man, Agrarian Justice and The Age of Reason. Thank you for asking this question.
I have no doubt that Paine would be an atheist if he were alive today. I love the de-conversion that’s shown in his writing from Common Sense to The Rights of Man to The Age of Reason.
Albert Einstein for those who dispute it [en.wikipedia.org]
I hope Einstein's lack of faith wouldn't be questioned here, but you never know.
None are on a pedestal, tho I read many. Or, watch videos of them. Dawkins, Hitchens, Dennett, Harris (the Four Horsemen), Dillahunty, Shermer, Krauss (unfortunate tho that situation is right now), Silverman, Mills, Baker, Aron Ra, many YouTube "spokesmen", Godless Cranium, Professor Stick, Thunderfoot,...the list goes on. Don't know if I agree with every little thing some state, or everything they may actually do in life, but all have contributed something in the formation of my ideas, understanding & organization of my stance.
Amen to that....oops sorry Hear hear! lol