Ricky Gervais: From Jesus-Loving Christian to Infidel

Posted by James Tracy on September 6th, 2008

I love posing in this blog the testimonials of everyday people who are atheists but whom you would otherwise never hear about. However, it is also interesting every now and then to hear about how a famous celebrity or otherwise notable person came to be an atheist (or even the fact that they are an atheist at all and willing to publicly speak about it!) Ricky Gervais is a popular British comedian best known for his series The Office and Extras. In this short article from ‘Best Life,’ Ricky explains how quickly he abandoned his Christianity at a young age and embraced a more intellectually fulfilling atheism.

Some short excerpts:

“I started thinking about it and asking more questions, and within an hour, I was an atheist.”

“The gifts of truth, science, nature. The real beauty of this world. Not a world by design, but one by chance.”

“But living an honest life - for that you need the truth. That’s the other thing I learned that day, that the truth, however shocking or uncomfortable, in the end leads to liberation and dignity.”