Portrait of Ricky Gervais
Wikimedia Commons: Thomas Atilla Lewis via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0
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Ricky Gervais

b. 1961
Atheist

Ricky Gervais dates his unbelief, by his own later telling, to a moment at about eight, when his brother asked why he believed in God and his mother's "Bob!" told him something was being hidden. The unbelief has not moved since, but its voice has. It went from a film about a world without lies (2009) and an essay complaining that the honest answer sounds rude (2010), to a plea to "just be kind" (2013), and to the label "agnostic atheist", with the argument of "one less god", put to a Catholic talk-show host (2017).

The belief timeline

1961Faithc. 1961–c. 1969 (inferred)Doubtc. 1969–70 (about eight; inferred from "about eight" and Bob being 19)Declaration2010-12-19 (earliest declaration verified in the original); the Actors Studio quip of 2009 and The Times of 31 Jan 2010 are earlier but secondhandRestatement 12013-02Restatement 22017-02-01
  1. Faith (c. 1961–c. 1969 (inferred)) — Childhood Bible study or Sunday school; he is drawing Jesus when the question comes. Only his own later account shows this; no source describes his belief or what he thought [5][6]
  2. Doubt (c. 1969–70 (about eight; inferred from "about eight" and Bob being 19)) — Bob's question, the mother's "Bob!", and his conclusion that something was being kept from him; "it took me minutes to work it out." Why this is the Doubt mark and not a later one: unlike Ingersoll or Bradlaugh, his own telling makes the crack and the conviction almost one event; the reasoned case came "then" from reading, which is undated [5][6][8]
  3. Declaration (2010-12-19 (earliest declaration verified in the original); the Actors Studio quip of 2009 and The Times of 31 Jan 2010 are earlier but secondhand) — The WSJ Speakeasy essay "Why I'm an Atheist"; the argument is that there is "absolutely no scientific evidence" and that giving that answer plainly is called impolite [16][11][10]
  4. Restatement 1 (2013-02) — Observer interview: "nothing wrong with spirituality if that makes you a happier, nicer person. But religion... is a way of controlling people... Just be kind." Tone is softer toward believers than the 2010 essay (inferred; he does not say his view changed) [20]
  5. Restatement 2 (2017-02-01) — On the Late Show he calls himself an "agnostic atheist" and defines atheism as declining to accept a claim without proof; he repeats it on 18 May 2017 with the line about going to hell [25][27][37]
Notes to the timeline (10)
  1. [5] His account of the origin of his unbelief: at "about eight," drawing a picture of Jesus ("Bible studies"), his brother Bob, who was "11 years older," "about 19," asked "why do you believe in God?"; their mother said "Bob!"; he took her body language to mean "she was hiding something from me"; "it all made sense"; then he "started reading" and has been an atheist "for 40 years" — Dawkins2012 via Wiki-RG footnote. Reported at second hand; the original has not been seen.
  2. [6] A variant of the same story in a 2019 commentary: "drawing a crucifix for Sunday school"; "19-year-old brother Bob"; mother "shouted, warningly, 'Bob!'"; "It took me minutes to work it out" — Hoopes2019 (summarising a YouTube clip it does not name).
  3. [8] After the scene with Bob, his unbelief was built by reading ("Then I started reading"); no titles, authors or dates of that reading appear in any source read — Dawkins2012 via Wiki-RG.
  4. [16] On 19 Dec 2010, 9:00 am ET, the WSJ Speakeasy blog posted Gervais's essay "Why I'm an Atheist." Its opening: he is asked "Why don't you believe in God?" all the time; believers "don't need proof" and "don't want evidence to the contrary"; giving a plain answer ("there is absolutely no scientific evidence for his existence and from what I've heard the very definition is a logical impossibility in this known universe") "comes across as both patronizing and impolite." It is a blog post; whether it also ran in print is unknown — WSJ2010 (first paragraph on the free page). First paragraph is the only source for this, as for the other details in this chapter cited to that source alone.
  5. [11] Wikiquote attributes to "Inside the Actors Studio," 2009: "If there is a god, why did he make me an atheist? That was his first mistake. Well, the talking snake was his first mistake." Date and wording not checked against the video — Wikiquote.
  6. [10] Wikipedia reports that he and his partner of decades have not married because, he told The Times (31 Jan 2010), "there's no point in us having an actual ceremony before the eyes of God because there is no God." Public statement only; nothing else about private life is used — Wiki-RG (citing Camilla Long, The Times, 31 Jan 2010, not opened).
  7. [20] In The Observer in February 2013 he said (as Humanists UK quotes it): "I don't believe there is a God but there's nothing wrong with spirituality if that makes you a happier, nicer person. But religion is something else, it's a way of controlling people... you don't need whatever religion gives you. Just be kind." — HUK (quoting The Observer, Feb 2013, original not opened).
  8. [25] On The Late Show on Wed 1 Feb 2017 Colbert (a Catholic) asked "Why is there something instead of nothing, why does the universe exist at all?"; Gervais answered that "the bigger question is not why but how," called himself an "agnostic atheist" who does not know whether God exists, said "Atheism isn't a belief system," and, told that Colbert believes in God "in three persons," replied that there are "about 3,000 to choose from. Basically, you deny one less God than I do." The Christian Post says the exchange took place on 1 Feb 2017; the YouTube upload is dated 2 Feb 2017 — CP2017; Horn2017 (the 2,999 line); YouTube metadata for P5ZOwNK6n9U.
  9. [27] A second Late Show exchange on Thursday 18 May 2017: Colbert said "I smoked you"; Gervais: "I'm going to hell because I don't believe in Him"; Colbert: "No... I'm going to hell because I do believe in it... I'm a sinner"; then on elves and Tolkien Gervais said "OK, I'm a Catholic" and Colbert "Welcome aboard" — BI2017.
  10. [37] Labels: "Why I'm an Atheist" (WSJ headline, 2010); "agnostic atheist" (2017, as CP2017 reports his words) — WSJ2010; CP2017.

One Less God

In February 2017 the comedian Ricky Gervais sat on the couch of The Late Show in New York, and its host, Stephen Colbert, a Catholic who teaches Sunday school, asked him why there is something rather than nothing. Gervais answered that the bigger question was not why but how. He called himself an agnostic atheist: he did not know whether there was a God, but he did not believe in one. And when Colbert said that he believed in one God, Gervais pointed out that there were thousands to choose from; Colbert, he said, denied all of them but one, and Gervais denied just one more.12345

This chapter asks where that unbelief came from, according to the comedian himself, and how a man who says he has been an atheist since he was eight has expressed it since.

Ricky Gervais at Comedy Central's Night of Too Many Stars, 2010.
Ricky Gervais at Comedy Central's Night of Too Many Stars, 2010.Wikimedia Commons: Thomas Atilla Lewis via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0

Whitley

He was born in Reading, Berkshire, on 25 June 1961, by Wikipedia's account, the youngest of four children of working-class parents; his father, Wikipedia says, was a French-Canadian labourer.67 Comedy began at home: on Desert Island Discs the programme described a quick gag or a smart reply as the currency of his family.8 The often-repeated statement that he was raised an Anglican is not supported by any source read for this chapter; what the sources show is Bible lessons at home and a vicar at his mother's funeral.9

Cressingham Road in Whitley, Reading, the district where Gervais grew up, in a modern photograph.
Cressingham Road in Whitley, Reading, the district where Gervais grew up, in a modern photograph.Wikimedia Commons: Des Blenkinsopp, Geograph Britain and Ireland, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0

A question from his brother

He has told the story of his unbelief more than once. The fullest version, as he told it to Richard Dawkins in 2012, goes like this. When he was about eight he was drawing a picture of Jesus for a Bible lesson. His brother Bob, eleven years older, came in, looked at it, and asked him why he believed in God. Their mother said only "Bob!" From her tone and her body language the boy understood that she did not want the question asked, and decided she was hiding something. It all made sense, he said; it took him minutes to work out. Then, he said, he started reading, and he had been an atheist for forty years.101112 In another telling, reported by a Catholic columnist, he was drawing a crucifix for Sunday school.1314 The story is his own, told decades later; no other record of it exists. The version in which his mother told Bob to shut up is not in any source read.

On his timeline, the faith is a childhood of Bible lessons, inferred, and the doubt is the scene with Bob, about 1969 or 1970. Unlike many in this book, he tells the crack and the conviction as almost one event; the reasoned case came afterwards, from reading he has never named or dated.12

He studied philosophy at University College London; no source connects his studies to his unbelief.15

Hartland Road in Whitley, Reading, in a modern photograph.
Hartland Road in Whitley, Reading, in a modern photograph.Wikimedia Commons: Steve Daniels, Geograph Britain and Ireland, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0

"Why I'm an Atheist"

In 2009 he made The Invention of Lying with Matthew Robinson, whose script he had reworked: in a world where no one has ever lied, his character tells his dying mother that there is a heaven, becomes famous for it, and hands down ten rules about "the man in the sky" written on pizza boxes shaped like stone tablets.161718 The Christian reviewer Frederica Mathewes-Green found it not the attack on religion that some had called it; she saw in it a touching human longing for something more, and judged its swipes at Moses and Jesus superficial.192021 In January 2010 he told The Times, as Wikipedia reports it, that there was no point in a wedding before the eyes of God, because there is no God.2223

On 19 December 2010 he posted an essay on the Wall Street Journal's Speakeasy blog headlined "Why I'm an Atheist." He was asked all the time, he wrote, why he did not believe in God. He tried to give a reasoned answer, and the honest one, that there was no scientific evidence for God's existence and that God as usually defined seemed a logical impossibility, came across as patronising and impolite.242526 Science, he went on, finds things out and admits what it does not know, according to Wikiquote's quotation.2728 The timeline puts his declaration here.

The Catholic League's president, Bill Donohue, answered a "Holiday Message" of Gervais's in April 2011, in which, by Donohue's account, Gervais called himself Christ-like though not a Christian; it was revealing, Donohue wrote, that this British atheist could not find a single secular humanist to model himself on.2930

Ricky Gervais on stage in December 2018.
Ricky Gervais on stage in December 2018.Wikimedia Commons: Raph_PH via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0

Just be kind

In 2012 Richard Dawkins interviewed him for a television series on sex, death and the meaning of life; it was there that he told the story of Bob.31 In February 2013 he told The Observer, as Humanists UK quotes him, that he did not believe in God, but that there was nothing wrong with spirituality if it made someone happier and kinder; religion was something else, a way of controlling people, and nobody needed whatever religion offered. His advice was simply to be kind.3233 On the timeline, this is his first restatement: the same unbelief, but gentler towards believers than the essay of 2010.

Richard Dawkins, who interviewed Gervais in 2012 and gave him the Richard Dawkins Award in 2019.
Richard Dawkins, who interviewed Gervais in 2012 and gave him the Richard Dawkins Award in 2019.Wikimedia Commons: Andrew West, British Humanist Association, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

The Late Show

The February 2017 exchange with Colbert went further than the "one less God" line. Atheism, Gervais said, was not a belief system. It was simply declining to accept a claim that could not be proved. If every holy book and every work of fiction were destroyed, he argued, they would not come back in a thousand years in the same form, but if every science book were destroyed, the same tests would give the same results and the knowledge would return.3435364 Colbert did not try to convert him; he suggested that Gervais's trust in science was itself a kind of faith, a belief in Stephen Hawking.375

The Catholic apologist Trent Horn answered within two days. That there are thousands of false gods, he wrote, does not prove there is no true one, any more than billions of innocent people prove that no one is guilty of a crime. Gervais, he argued, had set up a false dilemma between what can be proved in a laboratory and fiction, and many important truths about humanity cannot be shown in a laboratory.38394041 Bishop Robert Barron's Word on Fire show took the exchange apart segment by segment.42

In May 2017 Gervais was back. He said he was going to hell for not believing; Colbert replied that he himself was going to hell because he did believe, and was a sinner. When they came to Tolkien's elves, Gervais declared himself a Catholic, and Colbert welcomed him aboard: a joke, not a conversion.43444546 His second restatement on the timeline is "agnostic atheist," a sharpening of the label and not a change of mind.

Stephen Colbert in December 2017.
Stephen Colbert in December 2017.Wikimedia Commons: Montclair Film (Neil Grabowsky) via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
Bishop Robert Barron in 2017. His Word on Fire show answered the Colbert–Gervais exchange.
Bishop Robert Barron in 2017. His Word on Fire show answered the Colbert–Gervais exchange.Wikimedia Commons: Anon a mouse Lee via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
The Ed Sullivan Theater in New York, home of The Late Show, in 2019.
The Ed Sullivan Theater in New York, home of The Late Show, in 2019.Wikimedia Commons: Ajay Suresh via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0

On stage and on screen

Religion turns up in his stand-up, but rarely as the subject. In Humanity (2018), filmed at the Hammersmith Apollo, reviewers noted a passage imagining God giving the dogs their jobs at the creation, and his account of a Twitter row with a Christian in Texas.4748 After Life (2019–2022), the Netflix series he wrote and directed about grief, Humanists UK calls humanist in spirit; that is their description, not his.49 In September 2019 Dawkins gave him the Richard Dawkins Award before two thousand people in London; Gervais told them that when he first came to America he had been warned not to mention that he was an atheist, and that it had been the first thing he did.5051 In January 2020, opening the Golden Globes for the fifth time, he told the winners to thank their agents and their God and leave the stage; it was a joke about acceptance speeches, not a statement of belief.5253 The Catholic columnist Tom Hoopes, writing about the story of Bob, argued that a nominally Christian upbringing without belief does more harm to a child's faith than being raised by a devout atheist.5455

The Hammersmith Apollo in London, where Humanity was filmed in 2018.
The Hammersmith Apollo in London, where Humanity was filmed in 2018.Wikimedia Commons: Edwardx via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
The Troxy in Limehouse, London, where Gervais received the Richard Dawkins Award in September 2019.
The Troxy in Limehouse, London, where Gervais received the Richard Dawkins Award in September 2019.Wikimedia Commons: Doyle of London via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Did his unbelief change shape?

By his own account it was settled at eight, in the minutes after his mother said "Bob!", and nothing in the record suggests it has moved since. What changed was its voice. In 2009 it was a film about a world without lies; in 2010 an essay that complained that the honest answer sounded rude; in 2013 a plea to be kind; in 2017 a careful label, "agnostic atheist," and the argument about one less god, delivered to a Catholic talk-show host. His unbelief has been part of his comedy, but it has never been the whole of it.

Richard Dawkins, who heard the story of Bob and gave Gervais his award, has his own chapter in this book.

Footnotes

  1. Colbert: CP2017 [25. Not checked against the original (no (video captions not retrieved; transcribed by one outlet)). ↩

  2. CP2017 [25. Not checked against the original (no (one outlet)). ↩

  3. Horn2017 [25] [28. Not checked against the original (no (two outlets agree in substance; CP: "OK. But there are about 3,000 to choose from. Basically, you deny one less God than I do.")). ↩

  4. CP2017; Horn2017 (the 2,999 line); YouTube metadata for P5ZOwNK6n9U. ↩ ↩2

  5. CP2017; DailyBeast2017 (standfirst). ↩ ↩2

  6. Wiki-RG rev. 1378549927 (citing Empire, 14 Aug 2015, and BerkshireLive, 25 Jul 2021, neither opened). Reported at second hand; the original has not been seen. ↩

  7. Wiki-RG; Guardian2021 (siblings and parents confirmed there; names and dates from Wikipedia). ↩

  8. DID2007 programme page. ↩

  9. Wiki-RG (citing Desert Island Discs 2007 and Heavy.com). ↩

  10. Dawkins2012, as quoted in the footnote to Wiki-RG [5. Not checked against the original (no (the video has no retrievable captions)). ↩

  11. Dawkins2012 via Wiki-RG footnote. ↩

  12. Dawkins2012 via Wiki-RG. ↩ ↩2

  13. Hoopes2019 [6. Not checked against the original (no (reporter's rendering of a clip)). ↩

  14. Hoopes2019 (summarising a YouTube clip it does not name). ↩

  15. Wiki-RG. ↩

  16. Wiki-IoL rev. 1378527630. ↩

  17. Wiki-IoL. ↩

  18. CT2009 (the review); Wiki-IoL. ↩

  19. Frederica Mathewes-Green, writer and reviewer, Christianity Today, 2 Oct 2009 (standfirst): CT2009 [15. ↩

  20. Frederica Mathewes-Green (her view that faith is recognised, not reasoned to): CT2009 [15. ↩

  21. CT2009. ↩

  22. Wiki-RG (citing The Times) [10. Not checked against the original (no). ↩

  23. Wiki-RG (citing Camilla Long, The Times, 31 Jan 2010, not opened). ↩

  24. WSJ2010, first paragraph [16. ↩

  25. WSJ2010, first paragraph [16. ↩

  26. WSJ2010 (first paragraph on the free page). First paragraph is the only source for this, as for the other details in this chapter cited to that source alone. ↩

  27. WSJ2010 as quoted by Wikiquote [17. Not checked against the original (no (WSJ original not reached)). ↩

  28. Wikiquote (crediting WSJ2010). ↩

  29. Bill Donohue, Catholic League president, 21 Apr 2011 (a polemical voice; the item it answers is not identified): CL2011 [18. ↩

  30. CL2011. Not verified. ↩

  31. Wiki-SDML rev. 1368643370. ↩

  32. HUK, quoting The Observer, Feb 2013 [20. Not checked against the original (no (The Observer original not opened)). The ellipsis is Humanists UK's. Paraphrase only. ↩

  33. HUK (quoting The Observer, Feb 2013, original not opened). ↩

  34. CP2017 [25. Not checked against the original (no (one outlet; the "agnostic atheist" label there is CP's paraphrase with the phrase in quotation marks)). ↩

  35. Horn2017 [25. Not checked against the original (no (one outlet's transcription)). ↩

  36. Horn2017 [25. Not checked against the original (no (one outlet's transcription)). ↩

  37. Stephen Colbert (here in the Christian Post's paraphrase; his own words are OQ2), Late Show host, practising Catholic who teaches Sunday school (Daily Beast): CP2017 [26. ↩

  38. Trent Horn, Catholic Answers apologist, 3 Feb 2017, answering the "2,999 gods" line: Horn2017 [28. ↩

  39. Trent Horn, answering the science-books argument (Q11): Horn2017 [28. ↩

  40. Trent Horn: Horn2017 [28. ↩

  41. Horn2017. ↩

  42. WoF2017. ↩

  43. BI2017 [27. Not checked against the original (no (one outlet)). ↩

  44. BI2017 [27. Not checked against the original (no (one outlet)). ↩

  45. Stephen Colbert, 18 May 2017: BI2017 [27. ↩

  46. BI2017. ↩

  47. Wiki-Hum rev. 1339081687. ↩

  48. Mangan2018; Chortle2017. ↩

  49. Wiki-AL rev. 1369202597; HUK. ↩

  50. SI2019 [31. ↩

  51. SI2019; Wiki-RDA. ↩

  52. ABC2020 [33. Not checked against the original (no (the broadcast was not reviewed; ABC bowdlerises it)). ↩

  53. Wiki-GG rev. 1380016569; ABC2020. ↩

  54. Tom Hoopes, Catholic columnist, Benedictine College, 21 May 2019, on the Bob story: Hoopes2019 [32. ↩

  55. Hoopes2019. ↩

In their own words

"Why don't you believe in God? I get that question all the time. I always try to give a sensitive, reasoned answer. This is usually awkward, time consuming and pointless."

Gervais · WSJ2010, first paragraph [16]

"I still give my logical answer because I feel that not being honest would be patronizing and impolite. It is ironic therefore that "I don't believe in God because there is absolutely no scientific evidence for his existence and from what I've heard the very definition is a logical impossibility in this known universe," comes across as both patronizing and impolite."

Gervais · WSJ2010, first paragraph [16]

"Science seeks the truth. And it does not discriminate. For better or worse it finds things out. Science is humble. It knows what it knows and it knows what it doesn't know."

Gervais · WSJ2010 as quoted by Wikiquote [17]unverified

"when I was about eight, [my brother Bob] was 11 years older than me so he was about 19 and I was drawing a picture of Jesus, you know, Bible studies and he came in and he looked at it and he went "why do you believe in God?" and my mum went "Bob!" and I knew from body language, why didn't she even want the question? Ah, she was hiding something from me and I thought about it and it all made sense, Then I started reading and I've been an atheist for 40 years."

Gervais to Dawkins · Dawkins2012, as quoted in the footnote to Wiki-RG [5]unverified

"And I knew," Gervais recounts. "I learned it through body language. She was hiding something from me, and he was telling me the truth. It took me minutes to work it out."

Gervais, as reported by Hoopes · Hoopes2019 [6]unverified

"Why is there something instead of nothing, why does the universe exist at all?"

Colbert · CP2017 [25]unverified

"Surely, the bigger question is not why but how. Why is irrelevant, isn't it?"

Gervais · CP2017 [25]unverified

"Atheism isn't a belief system"

Gervais · CP2017 [25]unverified

"So you believe in one god, I assume. . . . But there are 3,000 to choose from . . . so basically, you believe in—you deny one less god than I do. You don't believe in 2,999 gods. And I don't believe in just one more."

Gervais · Horn2017 [25] [28]unverified

"So, this is atheism in a nutshell. You say, "There's a god." I say, "You can prove that?" You say, "No." I say, "I don't believe you then.""

Gervais · Horn2017 [25]unverified

"If we take something like any fiction and any holy book and any other fiction and destroyed it, in a thousand years' time, that wouldn't come back just as it was. Whereas if we took every science book and every fact and destroyed them all, in a thousand years they'd all be back, because all the same tests would be the same result."

Gervais · Horn2017 [25]unverified

"I don't believe there is a God but there's nothing wrong with spirituality if that makes you a happier, nicer person. But religion is something else, it's a way of controlling people. It's no coincidence that the people in charge of religion aren't the kindest or most forgiving. My point is that... you don't need whatever religion gives you. Just be kind."

Gervais · HUK, quoting The Observer, Feb 2013 [20]unverified

"It's a strange myth that atheists have nothing to live for. It's the opposite. We have nothing to die for. We have everything to live for."

Gervais, as read out by Dawkins · SI2019 [31]unverified

"It's the first thing I did!"

Gervais · SI2019 [31]

"If you win ... thank your agent, thank your God and f*** off."

Gervais, Golden Globes opening monologue, 5 Jan 2020 · ABC2020 [33]unverified

"I'm going to hell because I don't believe in Him."

Gervais · BI2017 [27]unverified

"OK, I'm a Catholic," Gervais said. "Welcome aboard," said Colbert

Gervais and Colbert · BI2017 [27]unverified

"If there is a god, why did he make me an atheist? That was his first mistake. Well, the talking snake was his first mistake."

Gervais, "Inside the Actors Studio," 2009 · Wikiquote [11]unverified

"there's no point in us having an actual ceremony before the eyes of God because there is no God"

Gervais to The Times, 31 Jan 2010 · Wiki-RG (citing The Times) [10]unverified

The other side

"Colbert suggested that Gervais' dependence on science is also a kind of faith, saying the comedian is choosing to "believe in Stephen Hawking" rather than in God."

Stephen Colbert (here in the Christian Post's paraphrase; his own words are OQ2), Late Show host, practising Catholic who teaches Sunday school (Daily Beast) · CP2017 [26]

"I'm going to hell because I do believe in it. Just because you believe in hell doesn't mean you won't go there. You probably will, because I'm a sinner."

Stephen Colbert, 18 May 2017 · BI2017 [27]

"Just because there are thousands of false gods or billions of people who are innocent of a certain crime, it doesn't follow that there is no true God or no single person who is guilty of a crime."

Trent Horn, Catholic Answers apologist, 3 Feb 2017, answering the "2,999 gods" line · Horn2017 [28]

"But here's the false dilemma: either truth is scientific and can be proven in a laboratory or else it is unprovable fiction. Since Bible accounts can't be confirmed by science, they must be fiction."

Trent Horn, answering the science-books argument (Q11) · Horn2017 [28]

"But just because a statement can't be demonstrated in a laboratory doesn't mean it's not an important truth about the world or humanity itself."

Trent Horn · Horn2017 [28]

"In a world where nobody has ever lied, a screenwriter discovers the advantages of modifying the truth—and it's not the attack on religion that some have made it out to be."

Frederica Mathewes-Green, writer and reviewer, Christianity Today, 2 Oct 2009 (standfirst) · CT2009 [15]

"To people who don't hear that ring, religious belief must look very odd, and Gervais counts himself an atheist."

Frederica Mathewes-Green (her view that faith is recognised, not reasoned to) · CT2009 [15]

"I would bet that being raised in a nominally Christian way without belief is more damaging to a child's faith than being raised by a devout atheist would be."

Tom Hoopes, Catholic columnist, Benedictine College, 21 May 2019, on the Bob story · Hoopes2019 [32]

"It is revealing that this British atheist couldn't find a single secular humanist to model himself after."

Bill Donohue, Catholic League president, 21 Apr 2011 (a polemical voice; the item it answers is not identified) · CL2011 [18]

Where accounts differ

PointOne accountAnotherHow the page handles it
What he was doing when Bob asked"drawing a picture of Jesus, you know, Bible studies" (Dawkins2012 via Wiki-RG)"drawing a crucifix for Sunday school" (Hoopes2019, summarising a clip)Say "drawing a picture of Jesus for a Bible lesson" and note it is his own telling; both agree on age and the brother.
What the mother said"my mum went 'Bob!'" (Dawkins2012 via Wiki-RG); "shouted, warningly, 'Bob!'" (Hoopes2019)The roster says "his mother told him to shut up" (no source found)Use "Bob!"; do not say she told anyone to shut up unless a source is found.
Age"about eight" (Dawkins2012; Wiki-RG says "abandoning religion at the age of eight")"I've been an atheist for 40 years" in an interview filmed c. 2011–12, when he was about 50, which implies about ten (Dawkins2012)Say "about eight, by his own account"; the 40 years is a round number.
Was it one moment or a process?"it all made sense" and "It took me minutes to work it out" (Dawkins2012, Hoopes2019)"Then I started reading" (Dawkins2012), so the reasoned case came laterPresent as crack at eight and a reading-built conviction after, with no date for the reading.
Age gap to the eldest sibling"17 years younger than the oldest" (Guardian2021)Larry b. 1945 against Ricky b. 1961 is 16 years (Wiki-RG)Avoid the figure or say "some 16 or 17 years."
Which Colbert exchangeFirst on 1 Feb 2017 (CP2017, Horn2017)Second on 18 May 2017 (BI2017); the Word on Fire page is dated 21 Feb 2017 though a YouTube upload of that episode shows 27 Sep 2018, and third-party reuploads of the clip are labelled "2018"Treat as two exchanges; date the first by CP2017 and the second by BI2017.
Who made The Invention of LyingThe roster lists it as his filmCo-written and co-directed with Matthew Robinson; the script began as Robinson's (Wiki-IoL)Say "co-written and co-directed with Matthew Robinson, whose script he reworked."
The Golden Globes lineThe roster calls it his "closing line"ABC places it in the "opening monologue"; Wikipedia's reception section calls it his opening monologue (ABC2020, Wiki-GG)Place it in the opening monologue; the closing remarks were not checked.
Stand-up as religion materialThe roster names Humanity (2018) and Armageddon (2023) as stand-up on religionHumanity has two religion passages (dogs and God, a Twitter row) inside a show about other topics (Mangan2018, Wiki-Hum); no source shows religion in ArmageddonName only the Humanity passages; do not say Armageddon is about religion.
"Raised Anglican"The roster's phraseNo source read says so; the only evidence is a vicar at his mother's funeral and Bible study at home (Wiki-RG, Dawkins2012)Say "brought up with Bible lessons"; find a source before "Anglican."
Donohue's "Holiday Message"Same title as the WSJ blog's headline of Dec 2010Donohue's release is dated 21 Apr 2011 (Easter) and does not say which item he means (CL2011)Quote Donohue as a critic; do not claim he was replying to the WSJ essay.

List of illustrations

This page uses only public-domain and Creative Commons images; each is credited with its source and licence.

  1. Ricky Gervais at Comedy Central's Night of Too Many Stars — Thomas Atilla Lewis, 2010-10-02 · Wikimedia Commons: Thomas Atilla Lewis via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0 · CC BY-SA 2.0
  2. Cressingham Road, Whitley, Reading — Des Blenkinsopp, 2012-07-05 · Wikimedia Commons: Des Blenkinsopp, Geograph Britain and Ireland, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0 · CC BY-SA 2.0
  3. Hartland Road in Whitley, Reading — Steve Daniels, 2014-05-21 · Wikimedia Commons: Steve Daniels, Geograph Britain and Ireland, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0 · CC BY-SA 2.0
  4. Ricky Gervais, 2 December 2018 (Commons title GervaisBlooms021218-21) — Raph_PH, 2018-12-02 · Wikimedia Commons: Raph_PH via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0 · CC BY 2.0
  5. Richard Dawkins accepting the Services to Humanism award, British Humanist Association annual conference — Andrew West (British Humanist Association), 2012-06-09 · Wikimedia Commons: Andrew West, British Humanist Association, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 · CC BY-SA 3.0
  6. Stephen Colbert, Montclair Film, December 2017 — Montclair Film (Neil Grabowsky), 2017-12-02 · Wikimedia Commons: Montclair Film (Neil Grabowsky) via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0 · CC BY 2.0
  7. Bishop Robert Barron after Mass at Pax Christi Parish, Rochester, Minnesota — Anon a mouse Lee, 2017-10-01 · Wikimedia Commons: Anon a mouse Lee via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 · CC BY-SA 4.0
  8. Ed Sullivan Theater with Stephen Colbert signage — Ajay Suresh, 2019-06-11 · Wikimedia Commons: Ajay Suresh via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0 · CC BY 2.0
  9. Hammersmith Apollo, London — Edwardx, 2014-08-31 · Wikimedia Commons: Edwardx via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 · CC BY-SA 3.0
  10. Troxy theatre, Limehouse, London (north face) — Doyle of London, 2023-09-17 · Wikimedia Commons: Doyle of London via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 · CC BY-SA 4.0

Sources

Tier 1 — the subject's own words (writings, interviews, broadcasts)

  • WSJ2010 Ricky Gervais, "Ricky Gervais: Why I'm an Atheist" (headline in the page title; the URL slug adds "A Holiday Message From"), Wall Street Journal, Speakeasy blog, 19 Dec 2010, 9:00 am ET. https://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2010/12/19/a-holiday-message-from-ricky-gervais-why-im-an-atheist/ (read through the Wayback snapshot https://web.archive.org/web/20170715050845/ of that URL: only the first paragraph is free, the rest is behind "To Read the Full Story"). In copyright (Dow Jones). The full text was not reached; a Wayback snapshot of 3 Jan 2011 (web.archive.org/web/20110103044832/) returned HTTP 429 and should be retried.
  • Dawkins2012 Gervais in conversation with Richard Dawkins, "Sex, Death and the Meaning of Life", episode 3, More4 (Channel 4), 15–29 Oct 2012 series (ClearStory). Quoted only through the footnote in Wikipedia's Ricky Gervais article (rev. 1378549927), which links https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3eyRo1Qyk4&t=2153s ; that video has no retrievable captions. Secondhand.
  • Colbert2017a The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (CBS), Gervais as guest, 1 Feb 2017; clip "Ricky Gervais And Stephen Go Head-To-Head On Religion", https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5ZOwNK6n9U , uploaded 2017-02-02, length 4:47. Wording taken from Christian Post and Catholic Answers transcriptions; captions not retrievable.
  • Colbert2017b The Late Show, second appearance, Thursday 18 May 2017 (date inferred from Business Insider's 19 May 2017 report "on Thursday"). Wording from Business Insider.
  • Netflix2022 Netflix, clip "No Ricky Gervais Does NOT Believe In God", from Ricky Gervais: SuperNature, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufPHCVtjUAg , uploaded 2022-05-24. Title and date only.
  • Wikiquote Wikiquote, "Ricky Gervais" (CC BY-SA), raw text read 2026-10-14; a finding aid for WSJ and Actors Studio wording. Not a citation for publication.

Tier 2 — scholarly biographies and encyclopedias

  • None. No scholarly biography or reference entry on Gervais was found, and none is expected for a living comedian. Nothing in this sheet rests on Tier 2.

Tier 3 — popular biographies and journalism (read for facts; all in copyright)

Tier 4 — Wikipedia (citable as a reference with the revision; a map to higher tiers, not a source of quotations)

  • Wiki-RG Wikipedia, "Ricky Gervais", revision 1378549927 of 2026-10-04T23:59:33Z. Cited sources opened: none of its own references except as listed above; the Times (Camilla Long, 31 Jan 2010), Empire, Heavy, and Observer items were not opened.
  • Wiki-IoL Wikipedia, "The Invention of Lying", revision 1378527630 of 2026-10-04T22:14:52Z.
  • Wiki-GG Wikipedia, "77th Golden Globe Awards", revision 1380016569 of 2026-10-13T07:55:32Z.
  • Wiki-Hum Wikipedia, "Ricky Gervais: Humanity", revision 1339081687 of 2026-02-18T21:26:40Z.
  • Wiki-AL Wikipedia, "After Life (TV series)", revision 1369202597 of 2026-08-13T13:28:25Z.
  • Wiki-SDML Wikipedia, "Sex, Death and the Meaning of Life", revision 1368643370 of 2026-08-10T06:59:38Z.
  • Wiki-RDA Wikipedia, "Richard Dawkins Award", revision 1361539391 of 2026-06-28T15:35:15Z.

Opposition sources — contemporary critics and religious responses