Ironically, read the Qur’an and the Bible (the novel), if you’re feeling adventurous educate yourself on Buddhism.

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

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

Atheism isn’t a religion, so there isn’t “must read books” nor mandatory workshops. Do what you please.

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.

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.

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.

Just read r/atheism if you want to become the final atheist form!

I Sold My Soul On EBay - Hemant Mehta

Good humor, seems like a genuinely nice and smart Guy.

The best thing about being free of religion, is being free of religion.

Go pick up a book on microprocessor architecture, that is neat stuff.

Not a book on atheism per se, but I’d recommend an annotated copy of the Dao De Jing. It is philosophical, helping the reader to understand the universe and the way to make life meaningful. As others have said, it can be nice to broaden your horizons with ways of thinking that are different from your background, even if it’s not capital A Atheist

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 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.

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.

The Demon-Haunted World by Carl Sagan