In fact, these days he supports four "religions" - humanism, atheism, amnesty-internationalism and humourism, a section devoted to him in Wikipedia, the Internet-based encyclopedia, notes.
Prof Kroto, with two fellow scientists, gained the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1996 for his part in discovering the carbon-60 molecule, in 1985.
These extraordinary molecules each consist of 60 carbon atoms, arranged as spheroids, in a pattern matching the stitching on football balls. They are often called "buckyballs".
A nanoscience researcher now based at Florida State University in the United States, Prof Kroto (69) is at the University of Otago this week attending a nanotechnology conference organised by the MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology.
"Humour, I think, is absolutely essential because without it life isn't worth living," he said yesterday.
The English-born chemist has long been an admirer of the group of English comedians known as Monty Python, noting they were "intelligent people".
"They were so clever that behind the humour, which was highly surreal, there was a point."
And they made a serious point about religion, in their 1979 film, Life of Brian, he adds.
And he still responds to comedian John Cleese, in his Fawlty Towers television shows, with "non-stop" laughter.
He also remains a strong advocate of humanism, which he terms "the greatest invention of human beings".
Concerned about "man's inhumanity to man," he staunchly backs Amnesty International.
Prof Kroto will give a public lecture on Science, Society and Sustainability at Otago University's St David lecture theatre complex at 6.30pm today.
He won, in 2001, the Royal Society's prestigious Michael Faraday Award for his work in furthering the public communication of science, engineering or technology in the United Kingdom.
Prof Kroto helped establish the Vega Science Trust, to boost science education, and more information about his science outreach activities is available at www.vega.org.uk and at www.geoset.info.