Stephen Fry
Actor, writer and broadcaster; outspoken atheist and humanist, patron of Humanists UK
5 videos analysed · 18 quotes checked word for word · updated 2026-10-18
Key facts
- Born in London in 1957, he studied English at Cambridge and hosted the quiz show QI from 2003 to 2015. Wikipédia 2025 · Stephen Fry
- He has been president of the mental health charity Mind since 2011 and was knighted in 2025. Wikipédia 2025 · Stephen Fry
- In 2010 he became a Distinguished Supporter of the British Humanist Association; in 2011 he received a Cultural Humanism award from Harvard's Humanist Chaplaincy. Wikipédia 2025 · Stephen Fry
Positions
click a row to see the evidenceHe says atheism is not only not believing in God but asking, if there is one, what kind of God it is. On Irish TV in 2015 he said he would ask God why He allows children's cancer: 'How dare you?' In 2012 he said he prefers to call himself a humanist and that 'monotheism is the really ghastly thing'; in 2021 he told Jordan Peterson that if such a being existed he would have many bones to pick with him, but that he is sorrowful rather than angry because he does not believe in him.
- For him the core objection is suffering: if there is a loving God, how can children get bone cancer? 'Answer me that. It's that simple.' Video 2015 · Stephen Fry on God, drugs and sex
- He rejects the usual reply that God lets children suffer because he wants them in heaven: 'That's ridiculous nonsense. That can't be true.' Video 2015 · Stephen Fry on God, drugs and sex
- He says the problem of evil is a very old argument, and that he does not undermine the serious theologians who try to justify pain and evil; he simply finds the objection still stands. Video 2015 · Stephen Fry on God, drugs and sex2
- On the first-cause argument, he answers that 'any child can say: well then, if it's God who made God'. Video 2015 · Stephen Fry on God, drugs and sex
- He sees gods as names we gave to forces we could not control: as we understand each one, 'the god disappears'. He finds monotheism, in particular, 'the really ghastly thing'. Video 2024 · Stephen Fry's Best Arguments…2
Evil may be the price of human freedom, so a loving God could still allow suffering.
He grants that serious theologians work to justify pain and evil, but says that for him the objection still stands.
Everything that exists needs a cause, so the universe needs a first cause, which we call God.
See 1 more objections
Rejecting religion throws away its wisdom: the old figures of faith still say something true about human character.
He does not believe in the gods as beings, but sees religious figures as true principles inside human character, so he does not throw out the baby with the bathwater.
Defends : The problem of evilCriticizes : The unmoved first mover
Contrasting himself with Dawkins the rationalist, he says: 'I think I'm an empiricist', and ties it to his love of drama, myth and human experience.
On a Humanists UK podcast in 2025 he presented uncertainty as an intellectual and almost moral value, and said certainty has often got us into trouble.
He speaks of an innate moral sense of right and wrong that goes beyond religious doctrine, and says morality comes from us, not from a god.
He says morality is 'a question of manners' that changes over time: our parents and grandparents meant something very different by 'immoral'.
- He doubts that religion makes people more moral: he says it is very hard, empirically, to build a list showing more morality among followers of a faith than among those who followed none. Video 2021 · An Atheist in the Realm of Myth…
- For him morality is 'a question of manners' that changes with time: our parents and grandparents had a very different sense of what was 'immoral'. Video 2021 · An Atheist in the Realm of Myth…
- He believes most people are fundamentally good and anxious to be good, and loves that we are dissatisfied with ourselves and want to be better. Video 2025 · Stephen Fry warns of ethical…2
Without a God to command it, morality has no firm ground: it is only custom.
He says most people are fundamentally good and anxious to be better, and that it is very hard to show that believers are more moral than non-believers.
If morality only changes with manners, nothing is truly right or wrong; some duties hold whatever the time.
He believes most people are fundamentally good and anxious to be better, and loves that we are dissatisfied with ourselves.
No sourced position yet on: Mind and body, Freedom, Faith and reason, Meaning of life.
On the big questions
Does God exist?Atheism
An outspoken atheist, whose main objection is the suffering in the world.
- For him the core objection is suffering: if there is a loving God, how can children get bone cancer? 'Answer me that. It's that simple.' Video 2015 · Stephen Fry on God, drugs and sex
- He rejects the usual reply that God lets children suffer because he wants them in heaven: 'That's ridiculous nonsense. That can't be true.' Video 2015 · Stephen Fry on God, drugs and sex
- He says the problem of evil is a very old argument, and that he does not undermine the serious theologians who try to justify pain and evil; he simply finds the objection still stands. Video 2015 · Stephen Fry on God, drugs and sex2
- On the first-cause argument, he answers that 'any child can say: well then, if it's God who made God'. Video 2015 · Stephen Fry on God, drugs and sex
- He sees gods as names we gave to forces we could not control: as we understand each one, 'the god disappears'. He finds monotheism, in particular, 'the really ghastly thing'. Video 2024 · Stephen Fry's Best Arguments…2
Evil may be the price of human freedom, so a loving God could still allow suffering.
He grants that serious theologians work to justify pain and evil, but says that for him the objection still stands.
Everything that exists needs a cause, so the universe needs a first cause, which we call God.
See 1 more objections
Rejecting religion throws away its wisdom: the old figures of faith still say something true about human character.
He does not believe in the gods as beings, but sees religious figures as true principles inside human character, so he does not throw out the baby with the bathwater.
Defends : The problem of evilCriticizes : The unmoved first mover
The question on the site: all the argumentsWhat makes something right?Nature or conscience
Morality does not need religion: most people are fundamentally good and anxious to be good, with a sense of obligation.
- He doubts that religion makes people more moral: he says it is very hard, empirically, to build a list showing more morality among followers of a faith than among those who followed none. Video 2021 · An Atheist in the Realm of Myth…
- For him morality is 'a question of manners' that changes with time: our parents and grandparents had a very different sense of what was 'immoral'. Video 2021 · An Atheist in the Realm of Myth…
- He believes most people are fundamentally good and anxious to be good, and loves that we are dissatisfied with ourselves and want to be better. Video 2025 · Stephen Fry warns of ethical…2
Without a God to command it, morality has no firm ground: it is only custom.
He says most people are fundamentally good and anxious to be better, and that it is very hard to show that believers are more moral than non-believers.
If morality only changes with manners, nothing is truly right or wrong; some duties hold whatever the time.
Should we fear death?Nothing to fear
He says one should live as if there were no afterlife, so as to fill this life.
- There may be an afterlife, he says, and then he will look stupid; but by acting as if there were none he will at least have had a full life beforehand. Video 2012 · Big Think Interview With Stephen…
What if there is an afterlife? It is safer to bet on it, as in Pascal's wager.
He accepts that he may be wrong and look stupid, but says that acting as if there were no afterlife means at least a full life beforehand.
In their words
I think monotheism is the really ghastly thing.
I'm just saying if there is a loving God, how come children get bone cancer? Answer me that. It's that simple.
It may be that there is an afterlife and I'll look incredibly stupid, but at least I will have had a crammed pre afterlife.
I'm not really resentful and angry about the fact that there's evil in the world, I'm sorrowful very often.
1 more quotes
What's that about? How dare you?
How the ideas evolved
Click a step for details2009Debate on the Catholic Church
With Christopher Hitchens he argues against the motion that the Catholic Church is a force for good. The debate becomes one of the most watched of Intelligence Squared.
2011Humanist award
Harvard's Humanist Chaplaincy and the American Humanist Association give him a lifetime award in cultural humanism.
2012A humanist, not a monotheist
In a Big Think interview he says he prefers 'humanist' to 'atheist', that monotheism is 'the really ghastly thing', and that one must live as if there were no afterlife.
In their words« I think monotheism is the really ghastly thing »He says he does not believe there is a God and prefers to call himself a humanist; if he had to believe he would believe in gods, because monotheism is the ghastly mistake. watch
« I'd rather describe myself as a humanist »He prefers 'humanist' to 'atheist', which he says gets a bad press. watch
« It may be that there is an afterlife and I’ll look incredibly stupid, but at least I will have had a crammed pre afterlife »He says one must act as if there is no afterlife, so as to fill life; if he is wrong, at least he will have lived fully. watch
2015What would you say to God?
On RTÉ's The Meaning of Life, Gay Byrne asks what he would say at the gates of heaven. His answer about children's bone cancer is widely shared.
2015No regrets
Asked in November whether he regrets his remark on an 'evil, capricious God', he says no: it was a hypothetical, and his question is simply how a loving God can allow children's bone cancer.
In their words« I'm just saying if there is a loving God, how come children get bone cancer? Answer me that. It's that simple. »Asked about his 'evil, capricious God' remark, he says he is only asking how a loving God can allow children's bone cancer. watch
« That's a ridiculous nonsense. That can't be true. It just can't be true. »He rejects the answer that God lets children suffer because he wants them in heaven. watch
« I'm not undermining the thinking that the serious theologians do »He grants that serious theologians work to justify pain and evil, while keeping his objection. watch
2017Irish blasphemy inquiry
Irish police open an investigation after a complaint under the blasphemy law. A prosecution is seen as unlikely.
2021An atheist in the realm of myth
On Jordan Peterson's podcast he says he is an empiricist rather than a rationalist, keeps the 'gods within us' without believing in them, and explains he is sorrowful, not angry, about evil.
In their words« i don't think i am i think i'm an empiricist »Contrasting himself with Dawkins the rationalist, he says he is an empiricist, which fits his love of drama, myth and human experience. watch
« i don't believe there is such a being but if there were and he were the kind of being that has been worshipped »He says he does not believe in such a being, but if he existed he would have many bones to pick with him. watch
« the argument from evil as it's known is a is a very old one »He presents the problem of evil as an old argument that goes back to medieval figures and humanists. watch
2025What I Believe, and AI
In the last episode of the Humanists UK podcast he speaks about uncertainty, moral sense and an ethical crisis in AI.
The arguments 2
The site's arguments they defend or criticize, and why. Click a title to see the full argument.
His bone-cancer-in-children answer is the problem of evil in his own words.
On the first-cause argument: 'any child can say well then if it's God who made God'.
Allies and opponents
Christopher HitchensClose
Debate partner in 2009. Fry calls him his dear friend.
Richard DawkinsClose
Fry wrote the introduction to the Four Horsemen book. Pictured with Dawkins when receiving an atheist award in 2018.
BBertrand RussellInfluence
After the 2015 interview he said he was not referring to any specific religion and cited Russell and ancient Greek thinkers.
Immanuel KantInfluence
He admires the beauty and simplicity of Kant's questioning.
Jordan PetersonSparring partner
Friendly disagreement in a 2021 conversation: Peterson thinks resentment toward God is counterproductive, Fry says he is not resentful because he does not believe.
AAnn WiddecombeDisagrees
Opposed him and Hitchens in the 2009 Intelligence Squared debate on the Catholic Church.
JJohn OnaiyekanDisagrees
The Archbishop who spoke with Widdecombe against Fry and Hitchens in 2009.
Closest and furthest
how it is computedAmong the philosophers
Among today's voices
Take the Compass: 5 minutes to find out which philosophers you are closest to.
All sources (21)
- Big Think Interview With Stephen Fry YouTube (Big Think) · 2012
- Stephen Fry on God, drugs and sex YouTube · 2015
- Six reasons why I think Stephen Fry is wrong (quotes his RTÉ remarks on atheism) The Irish Catholic · 2015 *
- Stephen Fry asked what he would say to God Attitude · 2015
- Stephen Fry warns of ethical crisis in AI in final episode of What I Believe Humanists UK · 2025 *
- The Catholic Church is a force for good in the world Intelligence Squared · 2009 *
- Stephen Fry Wikipedia · 2025
- Irish police open blasphemy investigation into Stephen Fry Boing Boing · 2017 *
- Celebrities pay tribute to lost loved ones ahead of nationwide memorial toast The Scotsman · 2022 *
- The Four Horsemen: The Conversation That Sparked an Atheist Revolution Avid Reader · 2019 *
- Stephen Fry's Best Arguments Against Religion YouTube · 2024
- Stephen Fry's Best Arguments Against Religion YouTube · 2024
- Big Think Interview With Stephen Fry YouTube (Big Think) · 2012
- An Atheist in the Realm of Myth | Stephen Fry | EP 169 YouTube (Jordan B Peterson) · 2021
- An Atheist in the Realm of Myth | Stephen Fry | EP 169 YouTube (Jordan B Peterson) · 2021
- An Atheist in the Realm of Myth | Stephen Fry | EP 169 YouTube (Jordan B Peterson) · 2021
- An Atheist in the Realm of Myth | Stephen Fry | EP 169 YouTube (Jordan B Peterson) · 2021
- Stephen Fry on God, drugs and sex YouTube · 2015
- An Atheist in the Realm of Myth | Stephen Fry | EP 169 YouTube (Jordan B Peterson) · 2021
- An Atheist in the Realm of Myth | Stephen Fry | EP 169 YouTube (Jordan B Peterson) · 2021
- Big Think Interview With Stephen Fry YouTube (Big Think) · 2012