From what I hear, reading The Bible is a lot of people’s first steps towards atheism.

Come to think of it, I wouldn’t really recommend any books on atheism. Atheism is not really its own thing, it’s just the result of not being persuaded by the claims of theism.

For me personally, I actually became an atheist via reading various religious texts, as well as various acclaimed spiritual novels. So sort of the opposite of what you’re asking for haha.

Recommendations based on science and humanism are okay, since that gives you a place to start looking through the secular stance on the mysteries religions claim to have all the answers for. But that also isn’t quite what you’re asking for. Many scientists and philosophers are religious themselves, after all.

Yet a third thing you aren’t asking for: I would check out Matt Dillahunty. He used to do a call-in show in Austin. Mostly just regular religious people calling in, going through their thought process on why they believed, then getting an atheist’s perspective in response. Looks like he’s still very active on youtube these days

I haven’t listened in years, and if I recall some of the most viewed clips were basically just angry arguments lol. But sitting and listening through full episodes is about as down-to-earth of atheist content as I can think of. Just addressing religious claims one at a time

The Demon-Haunted World by Carl Sagan

Not really approaching the topic of religion in any way (as far as I recall), but Bill Bryson - “A Short History of Nearly Everything” is a neat book, especially if your knowledge about the world is grounded in religious teachings.

Basically it goes through a lot of the scientific knowledge we have today and tells the story of how it was discovered, focusing on giving answers to “how we know what you know”. It’s a bit oversimplified in many areas, but it’s still pretty educational, entertaining, and at times pretty funny. The part about Henry Cavendish (18th century chemist) is hilarious.

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You seem to think atheism is some alternative belief you need to study. it’s not, It’s just no longer believing in the idea of God and instead just focusing on living your life the best you can. Just ask questions, be curious and don’t take anything at face value.

Small Gods by Terry Pratchett is a fun and thought-provoking fantasy, focused on religion and it’s social effects. It also has a pretty funny take on atheism.

Some of his other books makes some really great points about belief in general, particularly The Hogfather, the witches books, and Feet Of Clay.

The best book I’ve read on religion is Small Gods by Terry Pratchett.

It offers criticism of religion and also perspective as to why people view it as a framework for interpreting the world.

Honestly, I would recommend not books on atheism per se, but rather ones exploring non-theistic philosophy. Schools of thought amongst atheists and agnostics are just as diverse, if not more so than amongst theists. My world view is made up of many things, humanitarianism, empiricism and so forth. Ideas that build a foundation.

There is also the more emotional side, finding beauty and purpose in life. Personally I find myself coming back to the works of Carl Sagan, particularly “The pale blue dot”. Capturing, at least for me, a lot of essence.

Here is a short excerpt that he read. Just, wow.

Small Gods is indeed a great choice. I never thought of it as a “book for atheists” and it’s quite unlikely to turn someone religious into a non-believer - but it’s clever, funny and one of my personal favorite Terry Patches books. So, worst case scenario: you’ve read a highly entertaining book.

“The Bible” is the book that ultimately turned me into a convinced atheist. If you actually read it, without having it filtered and read to you by religious people with agendas, it’s hard to continue believing in any of its insane ramblings. But it’s a really tough, slow and often immoral and revolting read. Mostly, it’s just really stupid.

“The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster” is the opposite. It’s a funny, light and often silly read. It’s not exactly deep, but neither are the books it’s parodizing. As a satire of other religious text it works reasonably well in putting the finger in the wound.

“The Portable Atheist: Essential Readings for the Nonbeliever” is just that: a collection of texts and letters on the subject by some brilliant minds: Bertrand Russell, Albert Einstein, Mark Twain, Lucrecius, Charles Darwin, Richard Dawkins and many more … collected and edited by Christopher Hitchens. As an anthology it allows you to dip your toes in and read the texts you are interested in. Maybe my first choice as serious “atheism for beginners” literature.

The Skeptic’s Annotated Bible by Steve Wells, assuming you’re Christian (or I suppose Jewish or Muslim to a lesser extent).

It’s literally the KJV bible with commentary by an atheist. It might be a bit much to sit down and read over several days, but it should be useful.

Oooh, another one that’s well worth a read is Richard Dawkin’s The Selfish Gene.

I think Dawkins is a bit of a dick, and his brand of combative atheism is unpleasant at best, and probably counterproductive. But he is (or was) an amazing writer on evolutionary biology, and that book’s the best explanation of how evolution works that I’ve read. (Also, it’s NOT about selfishness at the human scale, the world is used metaphorically, and there is even a chapter or two explaining how altruism could have developed).

His book The Blind Watchmaker is also good for it’s exploration of abiogenesis, though it’s a bit later and it has a bit of the anti-religious arrogance of some of his newer approach.

These aren’t really about atheism, but more providing an alternative world view that undermines the obviousness of creationism.

**Ishmael by Daniel Quinn ** Not exactly about religion but a turning point for me.

Ishmael is a half ton silverback gorilla. He is a student of ecology, life, freedom, and the human condition. He is also a teacher. He teaches that which all humans need to learn — must learn — if our species, and the rest of life on Earth as we know it, is to survive.

The book opens with a deceptively ordinary personals ad: “Teacher seeks pupil. Must have an earnest desire to save the world.” Seeking a direction for his life, a young man answers the ad and is startled to find that the teacher is a lowland gorilla named Ishmael, a creature uniquely placed to vision anew the human story.

While others are right that there are no must-read books, deprogramming yourself from religion would be worth while, and reading atheist recommended books will help you do that.

• the demon haunted world
• the god delusion
• waking up: a guide to spirituality without religion
• letter to a Christian nation

One that comes to mind is “Religion for Atheists”. It is a great book that highlights the non-spiritual functions of religion in society. The idea is by identifying what function you got out of religion in the past, you may find ways to replace it without getting involved in the collective delusion of pretending to know the unknowable.

If you’re stepping away from the god of Abraham, you could always read Nietzsche’s “The Antichrist” but i dont really recommend most people read Nietzsche without some solid footing in philosophy and some helpful context, since he can lead people to some straight up Nazi shit which he elsewhere explicitly warned against. Context important with him. But it’s a scathing criticism of the role of dogma in society.

If you feel a need for a spiritual drink without relapsing on god, I recommend exploring the Dao De Jing. It’s another one that benefits from context, rereading, and meditation, but it can explain the world quite nicely without need of an invested anthropomorphic god.

Finally, you might want to pick up some existentialist literature if you feel like life has no meaning and you’re lost. Sartre or Frankl come to mind.