Musicians
- Larry Adler (1914–2001): American musician, widely acknowledged as one of the world’s most skilled harmonica players.[1]
- Javed Akhtar (1945–): Indian lyricist, poet and scriptwriter.[2]
- Béla Bartók (1881–1945): Hungarian composer.[3]
- Roy Bailey (1935–): British socialist folk singer.[4]
- Stephen Baird (1944–): American “scientific gospel” singer.[5]
- Hector Berlioz (1803–1869): French composer.[6]
- Pierre Boulez (1925–): French composer and conductor.[7]
- Isaac Brock (1975–): American singer, guitarist, banjoist, and songwriter for the indie rock band Modest Mouse.[8]
- Chico Buarque (1941–): Brazilian singer, composer, poet and writer, one of most famous of MPB, and one of the most famous Brazilian communists.[9]
- Geoffrey Burgon (1941–2010): British composer notable for his television and film themes.[10]
- Mike Burkett (1967–): (a.k.a. Fat Mike) American bassist and vocalist for the punk rock band NOFX. Many of their lyrics include atheist views.[11]
- Myles Kennedy (1969–): American musician and singer-songwriter, lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the rock band Alter Bridge.[12]
- Henry Burstow (1826–1916): English shoemaker, singer and bellringer from Horsham, Sussex, best known for his vast repertoire of songs, many of which were collected in the folksong revival of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.[13]
- Ferruccio Busoni (1866–1924): Italian composer, pianist, teacher of piano and composition, and conductor.[14]
- Kevin Cameron (1986-): Australian guitarist, who is most notable for being a member of the metalcore band I Killed the Prom Queen.[15]
- Nick Cave (1957–) Australian musician and writer, frontman of bands Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and the Birthday Party[16]
- Vic Chesnutt (1964–2009): American singer-songwriter.[17]
- Eddie Collins (a.k.a. Greydon Square) (September 28, 1981–): African-American hip hop artist.[18]
- Jonny Craig (1986–): Post-hardcore singer-songwriter, poet, lead vocalist for Emarosa and co-leader for Isles & Glaciers.[19]
- Frederick Delius CH (1862–1934): Noted English composer.[20]
- King Diamond (1956–): Danish heavy metal singer.[21]
- Ian “Dicko” Dickson (1963–): English-born music industry and television personality in Australia, best known as a judge on the television shows Australian Idol and The Next Great American Band.[22]
- Ani DiFranco (1970–): Singer, guitarist, and songwriter.[23][24]
- Beth Ditto (1981–): American vocalist with the band Gossip.[25]
- Brian Eno (1948–): English electronic musician, music theorist and record producer, known as the father of modern ambient music.[26]
- Fenriz (1971–): Norwegian drummer and lyricist for the two-piece black metal band Darkthrone.[27]
- Bob Geldof, (1951–): Irish singer/songwriter, organized the Live Aid and Live 8 charity concerts.[28]
- David Gilmour CBE (1946–): English guitarist, songwriter and vocalist of Pink Floyd.[29][30]
- Dave Godin (1936–2004): English champion of African-American music who coined the term ‘Northern soul‘.[31]
- Greg Graffin (1964–): Lead singer of the punk rock band Bad Religion. Received his zoology PhD with the thesis Monism, Atheism and the Naturalist Worldview: Perspectives from Evolutionary Biology.[32][33]
- Percy Grainger, (1882–1961): Australian-born composer and pianist.[34]
- David Gray (1968–): English Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter who came to prominence with his multi-platinum selling album White Ladder.[35]
- Kathleen Hanna (1968–): Lead singer of Le Tigre and Bikini Kill.[36]
- Jeff Hanneman (1964–): American guitarist, a founding member of the thrash metal band Slayer.[37]
- Yip Harburg (1896–1981) Hollywood lyricist and poet, most notably wrote the lyrics for Somewhere Over the Rainbow and It’s Only a Paper Moon.[38][39]
- Roy Harper (1941–): English rock / folk singer-songwriter and guitarist, known for his longtime associations with Jimmy Page and Robert Plant and for his guest lead vocals on Pink Floyd‘s song ‘Have a Cigar’.[40]
- Paul Heaton (1962–): English singer-songwriter, leading member of The Housemartins and The Beautiful South.[41]
- Anthony Heilbut (19??–): American record producer of gospel music and writer, a Grammy Award winner and noted for his biography of Thomas Mann.[42]
- George Hrab (1971–): American rock & funk musician & podcaster.[43]
- Leoš Janáček (1854–1928): Czech composer, famous for his Glagolitic Mass.[44]
- Stephan Jenkins (1964—): Musician, lead singer for the American rock band, Third Eye Blind.[45]
- Alex Kapranos (1972–): Lead singer of Scottish band Franz Ferdinand.[46]
- Paul Kelly (1955—): Australian rock music singer-songwriter, guitarist and harmonica player.[47]
- Kerry King (1964—): American guitarist, best known as one of the founding members of the thrash metal band Slayer.[48][49][50]
- Linton Kwesi Johnson (1952–): British-based dub poet.[51]
- Simon Le Bon (1958–): English lead singer and lyricist of the band Duran Duran and its offshoot, Arcadia.[52]
- Geddy Lee (1953–) : Canadian singer and bassist of the progressive rock band Rush.[53]
- Lemmy (1945–): English rock singer and bass guitarist, most famous for founding the rock band Motörhead.[54]
- John Lennon: member of the Beatles he claimed in his song “God” that he didn’t believe in God, Jesus, Buddha, Gita, Bible, etc. and in “Imagine” that the world would be more peaceful without religion
- Till Lindemann (1963–): Lead singer of the German industrial metal band, Rammstein.[55]
- Dave Lombardo (1965–): Cuban American heavy metal drummer, best known for his work with American thrash metal band Slayer.[37]
- Emcee Lynx (1980–): anarchist hip hop musician who identifies as potentially pantheist, agnostic or atheist.[56]
- Shirley Manson (1966–): Lead singer of the British-American alternative rock band, Garbage.[57]
- Ida Maria (1984–): Norwegian rock musician.[58]
- George Marshall-Hall (1862–1915): English-born Australian composer, conductor and professor of music.[59]
- Nick Mason: English drummer for Pink Floyd.[60]
- Sir Peter Maxwell Davies CBE (1934–): English composer and conductor, currently Master of the Queen’s Music.[61]
- mc chris (1975–): Underground hip-hop artist.[62]
- Andy Mckee (1979–): American composer and guitarist.[63]
- George Melly (1926–2007): English jazz and blues singer, critic, writer and lecturer.[64]
- Vinicius de Moraes (1913–1980): Brazilian composer and poet, best known as one of the first songwriters of bossa nova.[9]
- Napalm Death: grindcore/death metal band from Birmingham, England. All members hold atheistic outlooks.[65]
- Simon Napier-Bell (1939–): English music producer, songwriter, journalist and author, best known as manager of (among others) The Yardbirds, Marc Bolan, T. Rex and Wham!.[66]
- Alice Nutter (1962–): British singer and percussionist for Chumbawamba.[67]
- Tyler Okonma (1991—): American rapper and producer, best known for fronting West-Coast rap group OFWGKTA[68]
- Jim Reid (1961—): Scottish singer, songwriter and vocalist of the alternative rock band The Jesus and Mary Chain. “I think religious belief is some sort of mental illness, some sort of unrecognized schizophrenia. Your mind is so freaked-out, so fucked-up by the thought of dying and nothingness, that it just invents heaven. It’s a weird area, religion.”[69]
- Marc Riley (1961—): British musician, alternative rock critic and radio DJ.[70]
- Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844–1908): Russian Nationalist composer, member of “The Five”, best-known for the symphonic suite Scheherazade.[71]
- Richard Rodgers (1902–1979): American composer of the music for more than 900 songs and 40 Broadway musicals, best known for his songwriting partnerships with the lyricists Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein II.[72]
- Henry Rollins (1961–): American punk/rock musician, author, spoken word performer and actor. When asked “Henry, Do you believe in any form of afterlife or form of “God”? Also, what makes you get up out of bed every morning?” Henry responded- “No. Curiosity/anger.”[73]
- Pascual Romero (1980–): American musician and television producer.[74]
- Ned Rorem (1923–): American composer.[75]
- Eric Sams (1926–2004): British musicologist and Shakespeare scholar.[76]
- Justin Sane (1973–): Lead Singer of Anti-Flag, lyrics include many atheist views.[77]
- Dmitri Shostakovich (1906–1975): Soviet composer, one of the most popular of the 20th century.[78]
- Robert Smith (1959–): British musician, songwriter, singer and guitarist of the band The Cure.[79]
- Donita Sparks (1963–): American vocalist, guitarist and song-writer with her band Donita Sparks and The Stellar Moments and co-founder of grunge band L7.[80]
- Wayne Static (1965–): Frontman for Industrial Metal band Static-X.[81]
- Richard Strauss (1864–1949): German composer of the late Romantic and early modern era, particularly noted for his tone poems and operas.[82]
- Richard Thomas (1964–): British musician, writer, and comedy actor, best known for composing and scoring the award-winning Jerry Springer – The Opera.[83]
- Tracey Thorn (1962–): English pop singer and songwriter, best known as one half of the duo Everything but the Girl.[84]
- Sir Michael Tippett OM (1905–1998): English composer, regarded as one of the greatest of the 20th century.[85]
- Björn Ulvaeus (1945–): Swedish musician, composer, a former member of the Swedish musical group ABBA.[86]
- Edgard Varèse (1883–1965): Franco-American composer and pioneer of electroacoustic music.[87]
- Eddie Vedder (1964–): lead singer and lyricist of the band Pearl Jam.[88]
- Caetano Veloso (1942–): Brazilian singer-songwriter, musician. Best known for his participation in the tropicalia moviment.[9]
- Roger Waters (1943–): English rock musician; singer, bassist, guitarist, songwriter and composer, best known for his career with Pink Floyd.[89]
- Jerry Wexler (1917–2008): American music journalist and producer, regarded as one of the major record industry players behind music from the 1950s through the 1980s, coiner of the term Rhythm & Blues.[90]
- Earl Wild (1915–2010): American classical pianist, considered a leading virtuoso of his generation.[91]
- Frank Zappa (1940–1993):Was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer, and film director.[92]
- Wayne Coyne (1961–): American rock musician, lead singer of The Flaming Lips.[93]
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