18. Karl Marx
There’s hardly a better way to start an atheist list than with someone who has influenced great many future generations of atheists. Karl Marx was a German philosopher and economist among other things, but he’s widely acclaimed as world’s most prominent socialist thinker. His social theories have influenced many socialist revolutions around the globe and were triggers for both the rise of communism and modern socialism. Even his philosophy has been named Marxism, in his honor. His opinion on religion can be found in many of his works, and one of the best-known quotes is this one: “Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people.”
