EvolutionRules

Tonight the sixth Harry Potter movie will be hitting theater screens across the nation and the world. Many religious fundamentalists are already convinced that these films and the books they are based on promote witchcraft and Satan worship. Now they can add atheism to their list of paranoid outrage used to scare people into donating to their churches and “family values” organizations.
A few weeks ago, the actor who plays Harry Potter, Daniel Radcliffe came out as a Richard Dawkins loving atheist. Radcliffe joked, that "that's half of America that's not going to see the next Harry Potter film on the back of that comment." The odds are that those people who are outraged about the star actor being an atheist probably weren’t planning on seeing the film anyway. Those who would boycott the film due to Radcliffe’s lack of belief in a deity would probably be the same people who believe that the film series and books promote witchcraft.

Still, Radcliffe risked a lot by coming out of the atheist closet. Movie studios might be less likely to cast the young actor knowing that his presence would alienate a large portion of the American moviegoer. On the other hand, Potter fans would surely flock to any future Radcliffe film. Plus, Radcliffe isn’t the only atheist actor in Hollywood these days. Both Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have come out as atheists as well. Being an open atheist hasn’t seemed to hurt Bill Maher or Jon Stewart’s ratings either.

The more high profile actors and other famous people make their lack of belief in deities known the more mainstream Christians will see that atheists aren’t devil worshippers who eat babies and have no morals. Many young people may be curious as to why Daniel Radcliffe doesn’t believe in the God of the Bible. They may start asking questions in church or in their homes that they normally wouldn’t have asked. There is little doubt in my mind celebrities who are open about their atheism help to generate conversation, questions, discussions, and free thinking.