Atheists There are many people who have made important contributions to atheism, skepticism, agnosticism, and religious criticism throughout history. This page serves as an index to a series of short biographies of some of these individuals. Included here are historians, philosophers, statesmen, lawyers, scientists and more. Although separated by time and profession, what unites them is a common interest in reason, skepticism and critical thinking, particularly when it comes to traditional beliefs and religious dogma. This has played an important role in the development of religion and theology over the centuries because the challenges and questions posed by these and similar individuals could not simply be ignored. Perhaps there are as many reasons to be an atheist as there are atheists. What I mean by this is that the path to atheism tends to be very personal and individual, based on the specific circumstances of a person's life, experiences, and attitudes. However, it is possible to describe some general similarities that tend to be common among quite a few atheists, especially atheists in the West. It is, however, important to remember that nothing in these general descriptions is necessarily common to all atheists, and even when atheists share characteristics, they cannot be assumed to be shared to the same extent. A particular reason might play a very large role for one atheist, a very small role for another, and absolutely no role for a third. One can reasonably assume that these generalities may be true, but to find out whether they are true and how much, one must ask. In... middle of paper... Einstein believed in God. Rabbi Nathan Krass stated that "Albert Einstein's religion will not be approved by some sectarians but must and will be approved by the Jews." However, Cardinal O'Connor of Boston had for years denounced General Relativity, stating that it "concealed the fearful appearance of atheism" and that it was "a clouded speculation, producing universal doubts about God and His Creation." Fulton Sheen told members of the Catholic Teachers' Association that the Times had "degraded" itself by publishing Einstein's views, saying they were "the purest stupidity and absurdity." the Milky Way, and concluded: "There is only one flaw in his cosmic religion: he put an extra letter in the word - the letter ''"