10 Books About Atheism You’ll Want for Christmas

Yeah, you don’t technically celebrate Christmas, but that won’t stop you from asking for presents or buying something for yourself.

Here’s are some of my recommendations for atheist books you’ll want this holiday season. (And by that, I mean I want them this holiday season.) Some of them have been around for a while, some you probably haven’t heard of, and some won’t be published until next year (but you can pre-order them now).

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Raising Freethinkers: A Practical Guide for Parenting Beyond Belief (by Dale McGowan)

This book, by the author of Parenting Beyond Belief, takes secular parenting to a new level. It deals with issues such as moral development without religion, death, and dealing with religious people (including extended family members). Also included is a list of over 100 activities non-religious parents can do with their children (the activities are specific to secular parents, I presume).

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Everything You Know About God Is Wrong: The Disinformation Guide to Religion (edited by Russ Kick)

This is an easy-to-read collection of writings about atheism and the problems with religion (contributors include Richard Dawkins and Neil Gaiman). The pieces are quick and snappy; perfect for toilet reading.

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Godless: How an Evangelical Preacher Became One of America’s Leading Atheists (by Dan Barker)

This is about the journey from fundamental Christianity to hardcore atheism, as written by the co-president of the Freedom From Religion Foundation. He describes his former self as the type of Christian you “wouldn’t want to sit next to on a bus” so it’s amazing to read how he became non-religious coming from that world. Even more touching is the chapter on how he explained that decision to friends and family members who couldn’t believe what he was doing.

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Forbidden Fruit: The Ethics of Secularism (by Paul Kurtz)

Kurtz is the founder/chairman of the Council for Secular Humanism and the Center for Inquiry. In this book, he explains why God is not necessary to explain secular morality. The topics covered include animal rights and sexual/reproductive freedom. It’s heavier reading than other books on this list, but you’ll finish it feeling optimistic and appreciative of being a Humanist.

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Disbelief 101: A Young Person’s Guide to Atheism (by S.C. Hitchcock)

This one won’t be available for a while, but I’m looking forward to it. It’s essentially The God Delusion-lite — More humorous, however, and with several illustrations.

(On a side note, I’m curious who designed the cover image. While it might appeal to teenagers, it not-so-subtlely perpetuates the notion that atheists are vandals. That’s not the intention, of course. Still, it’s not a very positive image…)

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The Portable Atheist: Essential Readings for the Nonbeliever (selected by Christopher Hitchens)

This book is a collection of some of the best writing by atheists throughout history — from David Hume and Bertrand Russell to Penn Jillette and Ayaan Hirsi Ali. In case you don’t want the entire book, you can read many of those essays (at least the ones that are in the public domain) online.

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Christian No More: On Leaving Christianity, Debunking Christianity, and Embracing Atheism and Freethinking (by Jeffrey Mark)

Another strong book about a Christian who became an atheist. This one discusses specific church doctrine and Christians beliefs as well as the misconceptions many Christians have about science and the scientific method.

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Atheism Advanced: Further Thoughts of a Freethinker (by David Eller)

This book is for those of us who’ve already read all the “atheist primer” books. We know the basic arguments in favor of atheism. Now we want more. Questions raised and answered in this book include: “Why must Atheists stop ‘speaking Christian?'” and “How are gods created, and are they being manufactured today?”

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The Secular Conscience: Why Belief Belongs in Public Life (by Austin Dacey)

This is a manual on how and why non-religious people should pursue a progressive agenda. Obviously, one would expect atheists to stand up for reason and science and chuch/state separation. But Dacey also explains why we ought to support “freedom of belief, personal autonomy, equality, toleration, and self-criticism.” Religion isn’t the only framework for those morals and we need a resurgence in secular morality, he argues.

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Living Without God: New Directions for Atheists, Agnostics, Secularists, and the Undecided (by Ronald Aronson)

This book isn’t about being an anti-theist. It’s focused on positive atheism. Aronson talks about the inequalities in our world and why they are there, what we can hope for with a secular worldview, and what we ought to be doing to make this world better.

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Do you have any additional recommendations?