Science-Fiction Authors tend to be Atheists

If you want to write a great novel that will shake the world and make you famous, you’re more likely as an Atheist. Karl Marx, Thomas Paine, Bruce Lee were Athests; it’s as thougjhintellectuals and creative types seem to have trouble swallowing dogma. In this post I’ll name the science-fictiom authors I was emamored with as an adolescent, who just happen to be Atheist. I hav not cherry picked authors; 80-90 percent of the sci-fi authors that I’ve read enough of to remember their names have turned out to be Atheists.

The best science fiction authors tend to be Atheists: HG Wells, Isaac Asimov, Robert Heinlein, Arthur C Clarke, HP Lovecraft, Douglas Adams, and Gene Roddenberry. And who can forget Dr Who?
I never understood how Orson Scott Card (Ender’s Game) remained a Mormon. I don’t understand CS Lewis either, but given his devotion to stuffing fiction with the Christian gospel, his books are probably the least worth reading on this list.

The exceptions stand out more because they are so rare. To summarize:

>There is little Science Fiction from Theists

>Most Science Fiction is bought by Theists

Conclusion: Christians are poor story-tellers, and compensate for their handicapped imaginations by paying Atheists. William Gibson was better at writing entertaining stories about tomorrow’s internet, because he was willing to follow a premise to the most ludicrous conclusions.

Fwiw, I have asked the Christians for an explanation, and the best answer admitted that Christianity holds back your imagination. I paraphrase, “The Christian worldview is incompatible with a progressive vision of the future, and it’s easier for us to write fantasy or apocalyptic dystopias.”