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Comic Artist/Writer
Ennis is the controversial author of the comic books (DC's "Preacher", "Hitman" and formerly of "Hellblazer" for DC Comics' Vertigo imprint). He said:
"I'm an atheist, really. But everyone seems to think I'm some terrible lapsed Catholic who suffered the worst of a Catholic upbringing and had the crap kicked out of him by nuns and monks. In actual fact, I'm not Catholic, and I never had any kind of direct religious upbringing at all, although I was exposed to the inevitable religious influence that growing up in Ireland will give you. And slightly more directly, my school had what was known as the Scripture Union or Christian Union, which young people were very strongly encouraged to join. They weren't too overt about it, but the kind of insidious propaganda that they employed used to, quite frankly, annoy the piss out of me. But I've always been interested in the history of Christianity and its effect on the world, and more generally speaking, in the idea of faith and of someone giving control over his destiny to what he sees as a higher power. These things have always just fascinated me and they're bound to show up in my work again and again. Negatively." -- Wizard: The Guide to Comics #62, October 1996, p.56
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In an AOL chat that took place on August 20, 1996 Ennis is asked: "People say you hate God. Is this true or do you just feel better when he's not around?"
Ennis replies "I don't [believe] he exists. I think if he did exist he'd be a villain....and that's where preacher and a lot of my work on Hellblazer comes from."
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Ennis says he doesn't believe in God in the new (January 2000?) issue of "Wizard." This is from the intro to his interview:
"Stretching out on the chair, Ennis willingly discusses two of his biggest fascinations - faith and violence - and hints at a subtle bond linking the two. Ennis openly admits he doesn't believe in God, and says he tackles religion in his stories for the same reason he includes violence - 'because it entertains and fascinates me, not because it's a part of my life.' And while such an admission may seem controversial to some, it's merely a matter of fact for Ennis."