I’m not sure Vonnegut would be entirely comfortable with the atheist label. He certainly never fit into the stereotype. He often referred to himself as a Humanist, (his “ancestral religion”), when pressed for a direct answer. And once called himself “a Christ-worshipping agnostic.” He was definitely a free thinker. A critical thinker. A genuinely unique mind. However, there can be no doubt about his disdain for hypocrisy, particularly religious hypocrisy.
The quote is above is from A Man Without A Country, a collection of essays that turned out to be his last work, that featured a markedly humanist perspective on humor, politics and American society.
In that collection, Vonnegut writes about how music, particularly jazz and blues, helped him through tough times. He wrote:
“If I should ever die, God forbid, let this be my epitaph:
THE ONLY PROOF HE NEEDED
FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
WAS MUSIC”
The boundaries imposed by labels are inadequate when it comes to Vonnegut. One of a kind.
I’m not sure Vonnegut would be entirely comfortable with the atheist label. He certainly never fit into the stereotype. He often referred to himself as a Humanist, (his “ancestral religion”), when pressed for a direct answer. And once called himself “a Christ-worshipping agnostic.” He was definitely a free thinker. A critical thinker. A genuinely unique mind. However, there can be no doubt about his disdain for hypocrisy, particularly religious hypocrisy.
The quote is above is from A Man Without A Country, a collection of essays that turned out to be his last work, that featured a markedly humanist perspective on humor, politics and American society.
In that collection, Vonnegut writes about how music, particularly jazz and blues, helped him through tough times. He wrote:
The boundaries imposed by labels are inadequate when it comes to Vonnegut. One of a kind.