Older atheist fiction.

ceramiccoconut · Oct 2, 2011

An MC of mine is questioning his beliefs (and those forced upon him by his mother) as a pre-teen. I need him to be reading something substantial for his age group (or a little older) that depicts or teaches atheist (or at least agnostic) beliefs. The trick is, this would be happening in the very late 1980s. If it were only a little later, I could use His Dark Materials. Unfortunately, I'm rather stuck in this time period for other plot purposes.

Really, I just need something informative for him, but going against his mother's strict Christian teachings.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

veinglory · Oct 2, 2011

Potentially non-ficton by Rachlin or BF Skinner. I am hard pressed to think of fiction from that period that is overtly atheis--though I am sure it exists

Filigree · Oct 2, 2011

Carl Sagan's Cosmos or James Burke's Connections TV series are both good bridges to humanist ideas, and both would have been out for a while by the late 80's. Books by James Randi, as well. Not overtly atheistic, but definitely champions of rationality.

ceramiccoconut · Oct 2, 2011

Thanks! I found one that's actually beyond perfect, especially because it ties into to something later in the book (Faith Healers by James Randi). And it came out in 87.

SPMiller · Oct 2, 2011

Could also try books from any of the following writers:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_atheist_authors

Roxxsmom · Nov 4, 2012

Filigree said:
Carl Sagan's Cosmos or James Burke's Connections TV series are both good bridges to humanist ideas, and both would have been out for a while by the late 80's. Books by James Randi, as well. Not overtly atheistic, but definitely champions of rationality.

And don't forget Carl Sagan's first contact novel Contact, as well. That was out by the late 80's, I think, and it was fairly popular and might have been read by your protagonist if he was a SFF fan.

zornhau · Nov 26, 2012

Edgar Rice Burroughs Gods of Mars is pulp-era goodness, but flagrantly anti-religion.

Older atheist fiction.

ceramiccoconut

veinglory

volitare nequeo

Filigree

Mildly Disturbing

ceramiccoconut

SPMiller

Prodigiously Hanged

Roxxsmom

Beastly Fido

zornhau

Swordsman