At the age of thirteen, Ayn Rand decided she was an atheist. Her reason: “the concept of God is degrading to man.” One major form of this degradation is religion’s effect on genuine values, including sacred values. This idea is prominent in her early writings, and continues to be featured in The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged, as well as in her nonfiction. This lecture examines this aspect of Ayn Rand’s distinctive approach to atheism.