"I said in an interview not long ago that I didn't believe in God, and people called my mother saying, 'How do you feel about Beth being an atheist?' "

"I am an atheist. But I don't think ['Creation' is] a film about atheism, I think it's a film about a man who became at least agnostic, as I think he always called himself. ... But for me, as an atheist, to have a viable alternative is incredibly important. The difficulty of looking at a system like natural selection if you have any sort of moral sense yourself, is almost what makes it beautiful."

"I derive comfort from the knowledge that I am just another stitch in the fabric, that I was molded by natural selection, not by divine decree or intelligent design."

"I treat people good for goodness' sake, not because I'm going to be rewarded in an afterlife."

"Because I’m in a privileged position in so many ways, it’s even more important that I speak out and be open about being an atheist and a secular humanist. Anyone who has that privilege can use it to help people understand that being nonreligious is a pretty common thing."

"I’m a humanist. I’m a big fan of Richard Dawkins."

"Cecilia Gentili is an atheist. But God won’t give up on her. Unfortunately, neither will Satan."

"Reason is not one tool of thought among many, it is the entire toolbox."

"The Diogenes lamp of skepticism was lit for me at the age of twelve. It was lit by a strapping second-grader. The shiner — blue, violet, and red — burned under my left eye for two whole weeks. I prayed for a miracle, I prayed for it to disappear. The miracle did not take place. I began to wonder."

REASON: Have you put your religious training behind you, or is it something you still think about a lot?
CORNELL: No, it isn't. I feel sorry for the people who honestly swallow it. To me they're fish. I don't wanna be a fish.

"[I]f you care about secularism, if you care about religious freedom, you need to care very, very deeply about voting."

"If my mother was still alive, I would tell her that I’m not so sure there is a God. But more importantly, I’d explain that I’m searching for our shared faith in humanity."

“Easter is when Jesus comes out of his tomb, and if he sees his shadow he goes back in and we get six more weeks of winter.”

"That goodness does exist, that’s my god, it’s enough."

"I try to respect everybody's views [but] sometimes those very highly religious views can be socially extremely dangerous, because if you think that the cause is supernatural, then you don't have much motivation to find a natural solution. It is quite dangerous to refuse the findings of science because of your personal beliefs."