An Atheist In the Foxhole Trivia Quiz

Answer: Bruce Lee

In 1972, according to biographer John Little, Lee was asked if he believed in God, to which he said, "I really do not." Although both Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan are of Hong Kong ancestry, Chan was born there in 1954, while Lee was born in San Francisco's Chinatown in 1940.

Answer: George Carlin

In 2008, the year of his death, Carlin was awarded the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. He was the first to win the award posthumously. Whereas Carlin often criticized religion, God, and followers of religion, all three of the incorrect choices were Jewish comics.

Answer: Moshe Dayan

Both Tariq Ali in 2003 and Giulio Meotti in 2011, writing about Israel's recent history, described David Ben-Gurion and Moshe Dyan as atheists. Following his military career, Dayan served the Israeli government as Minister of Defense for seven years and Minister of Foreign Affairs for two. Dayan died in 1981.

Answer: Marlene Dietrich

Dietrich was born in Berlin in 1901. Her experience touring with USO shows during World War II caused her to fall away from the Lutheran teachings of her childhood. She is reported to have said, "I lost my faith during the war." and "If God exists, he needs to review his plan." However, during the final years of her life she converted to Roman Catholicism, and she had a Catholic funeral in Paris.

She died in 1992. Garbo was born in Sweden in 1905 and died in 1990. Bergman, like Garbo, was born in Stockholm.

She lived from 1915 to 1982. West was born in Brooklyn in 1893 and died in 1980.

Answer: Richard Burton

OK, I may have exaggerated Sir Richard's acting ability, since he never won an Oscar, but he did get seven nominations. He did inspire Elizabeth Taylor, however, as he married her twice in succession, among his five trips down the aisle. Born Richard Walter Jenkins in Wales in 1925, he had a dozen siblings, of whom eleven were older.

He is quoted as saying, "I simply cannot" believe in God.

Answer: Mick Jagger

Sir Mick is the only Englishman listed as a choice. While he appears on a "Most Famous Atheists" list by Rant Lifestyle posted on January 1, 2014, about a dozen other lists of atheist entertainers or musicians I've searched omit him. Nonetheless, the fact that Hell's Angels tried to assassinate Jagger and failed is pretty impressive to me.

However, after reading "The God Delusion" by Richard Dawkins, Jagger said, "I'm more in awe of the universe and that's not really a belief in God," which led Tom Kershaw to describe Jagger as "a Buddhist atheist."

Answer: Bobcat Goldthwait

Comedy Central rated Bobcat as the 61st greatest comedian of all time. Is that good or bad? He said that blaming the President for what's wrong in the country is like blaming Ronald McDonald for a bad cheeseburger. In a 1994 interview with Bobcat, Katie Couric kept asking him to calm down, and during a subsequent commercial, she asked her staff why no one had told her that "he talked like that." That's the Bobcat!

Answer: Katharine Hepburn

The bit about Hepburn and Bogie in World War I is, of course, from their 1951 classic, "The African Queen." Always an independent thinker who refused to be confined by society's expectations for women, Katherine stated in 1991, "I'm an atheist, and that's it." Her strength of character and trust in her own mind would make her a perfect partner in a foxhole.

Answer: Clarence Darrow

Darrow's 1925 confrontation with William Jennings Bryan at the Scopes Trial in Dayton, Tennessee, was actually focused on evolution versus creationism and science versus the Bible. While perhaps not technically an atheist (He is quoted as saying, "I do not consider it an insult, but rather a compliment to be called an agnostic."), I have included him in this quiz. I'm sure that if there are agnostics in foxholes, they must surely be leaning toward belief rather than non-belief, depending on how dire their situation is.

The above quote is from the "United States History" website (u-s-history.com) article on Darrow. Wikipedia lists him on their "List of atheists in politics and law."

Answer: Doctor Who

A staple of British television since 1963, "Doctor Who" is a weekly "programme," as they say across the pond, featuring the adventures of a Time Lord who seeks to protect Earthlings from Daleks, Cybermen, and other intergalactic dangers. William Hartnell was the actor who first played The Doctor on the BBC.

As of 2014, there have been a dozen Doctor Who's, with Peter Capaldi taking over the role in 2013. There have also been a few guest appearances as other incarnations of Doctor Who, or other Time Lords.

The TARDIS, appearing as a British police box, is The Doctor's vehicle for travel through time and space, as well as an office.