I’m intrigued by the search engine phrases that lead people to this blog. My most-viewed post, on librarian stereotypes, is still steadily getting hits — apparently not just from people interested in the topic, but from people searching for information about the deaths of abalone divers. (Who says search engines have eliminated serendipity?)

And now my post about scale-of-the-universe videos, with a passing mention of Morgan Freeman, is showing up in search results for “morgan freeman atheist.” So I Googled that phrase myself, and lo and behold:

This morning on CNN’s American Morning, Morgan Freeman was interviewed about a new show in which he is the executive producer and host of, “Through The Wormhole With Morgan Freeman”. One of the CNN hosts, Kiran Chetry, began the interview stating, “You are a man of God”, with Freeman snickering while replying, “And when did I ever say that?” Chetry corrected herself and said, “you are a man of faith.” Again, Freeman came back with “If faith is what you believe, then yes,” then alluding to a belief in science.

Update (6/3): Here’s video (thanks to Anonymous in the comments). I have reservations about how he tries to explain “faith” in scientific principles; a scientist would have made a stronger distinction between religious belief and the process by which scientific theories become accepted as “facts.”

Not quite an explicit admission of atheism, but pretty darn close, I think. How ironic that Freeman, whose voice is often likened to the voice of God, and who has in fact played God himself on film, is actually a nonbeliever; then again, perhaps it should come as no surprise that actors don’t really believe their characters are real.

The show itself sounds fascinating:

This new series, produced by Freeman’s Revelations Entertainment, seeks the answers to the big questions: Are we alone? Where did we come from? Is there life on other planets? From the latest work at NASA and private enterprise facilities to the latest theories from academics and researchers, this series looks at black holes, colonizing the planets, string theory and more. Science Channel invites viewers on the journey as Morgan Freeman picks up where Carl Sagan’s “Cosmos” left off and explores the new frontiers of what is beyond Earth.

And here’s the video promo:

Interesting that “Is there a creator?” is one of the questions the video poses. Will the show be brave enough to declare what scientists really think about that?

And: picking up where Cosmos left off? Ambitious, and a very worthy goal; if it comes anywhere near to being as informative and compelling as Sagan’s series, I’d consider it a triumph. I look forward to seeing the show — and, eventually, to seeing it get Symphony of Science‘s autotune treatment:

I have to say, though, that there must be better titles out there than “Through the Wormhole with Morgan Freeman.” In a certain frame of mind, that just sounds… wrong.

(Image via Almost Famous Cats)