Neumann is "the son of German Jewish refugees",[3] one of them the eminent political sociologist of Nazism, Franz Leopold Neumann.[4] He has written that "Like my parents, I have always been an atheist."[3] He is a US citizen and resident of Canada.[4] Neumann graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. in English and History from Columbia University in 1968, and in 1975 was awarded his Ph.D. in philosophy by the University of Toronto.[2]