"Atheist" redirects here. For the band see Atheist (band). Part of a series on Atheism Concepts Antitheism  Atheism and religion Implicit and explicit atheism Negative and positive atheism History History of atheism New Atheism  Atheism 3.0 Arguments for atheism Arguments against God's existence Argument from free will Argument from inconsistent revelations Argument from nonbelief Argument from poor design Atheist's Wager Fate of the unlearned God of the gaps Incompatible-properties argument Omnipotence paradox Problem of evil  Problem of Hell Russell's teapot Theological noncognitivism Ultimate Boeing 747 gambit Miscellaneous Criticism of atheism  Demographics Discrimination / persecution of atheists Notable atheists  State atheism Related concepts Agnosticism  Agnostic theism  Agnostic atheism Ignosticism  Apatheism Weak agnosticism  Strong agnosticism List of agnostics Irreligion  Criticism of religion  Freethought Freedom From Religion Foundation Anti-clericalism  Antireligion Russell's teapot  Parody religion Post-theism Naturalism  Humanistic  Metaphysical  Religious Secularism  Secularity  Secular Humanism Secularist organizations Portal  WikiProject v d e

Atheism is in a broad sense the rejection of belief in the existence of deities.1 In a narrower sense atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities.2 Most inclusively atheism is simply the absence of belief that any deities exist.3 Atheism is contrasted with theism45 which in its most general form is the belief that at least one deity exists.56

The term atheism originated from the Greek (atheos) meaning "without god" which was applied with a negative connotation to those thought to reject the gods worshipped by the larger society. With the spread of freethought skeptical inquiry and subsequent increase in criticism of religion application of the term narrowed in scope. The first individuals to identify themselves as "atheist" appeared in the 18th century.7

Atheists tend to be skeptical of supernatural claims citing a lack of empirical evidence. Atheists have offered various rationales for not believing in any deity. These include the problem of evil the argument from inconsistent revelations and the argument from nonbelief. Other arguments for atheism range from the philosophical to the social to the historical. Although some atheists have adopted secular philosophies89 there is no one ideology or set of behaviors to which all atheists adhere.10

In Western culture atheists are frequently assumed to be exclusively irreligious or unspiritual.11 However atheism also figures in certain religious and spiritual belief systems such as Jainism Buddhism and Hinduism. Jainism and some forms of Buddhism do not advocate belief in gods12 whereas Hinduism holds atheism to be valid but difficult to follow spiritually.13

Since conceptions of atheism vary determining how many atheists exist in the world today is no easy task.14 According to one estimate about 2.3% of the world's population are atheists while a further 11.9% are nonreligious.15 According to another rates of self-reported atheism are among the highest in Western nations although also to quite varying degreesUnited States (4%) Italy (7%) Spain (11%) Great Britain (17%) Germany (20%) and France (32%).16 Contents 1 Etymology 2 Definitions and distinctions 2.1 Range 2.2 Implicit vs. explicit 2.3 Positive vs. negative 2.4 Definition as impossible or impermanent 2.5 Other usage of the term "positive atheism" 3 Philosophical concepts 3.1 Practical atheism 3.2 Theoretical atheism 3.2.1 Ontological arguments 3.2.2 Epistemological arguments 3.2.3 Metaphysical arguments 3.2.4 Logical arguments 3.3 Reductionary accounts of religion 3.4 Alternatives 3.4.1 Atheist existentialism 4 History 4.1 Early Indic religion 4.2 Classical antiquity 4.3 Early Middle Ages to the Renaissance 4.4 Early modern period 4.5 Since 1900 5 Demographics 6 Atheism religion and morality 6.1 Association with world views and social behaviors 6.2 Atheism and irreligion 6.3 Divine command vs. ethics 6.4 Dangers of religions 7 See also 8 Notes 9 References 10 Further reading 11 External links Etymology The Greek word (atheoi) as it appears in the Epistle to the Ephesians (2:12) on the early 3rd-century Papyrus 46. It is usually translated into English as "those who are without God".17

In early ancient Greek the adjective atheos ( from the privative - + "god") meant "godless". It was first used as a term of censure roughly meaning "ungodly" or "impious". In the 5th century BCE the word began to indicate more deliberate and active godlessness in the sense of "severing relations with the gods" or "denying the gods". The term (asebs) then came to be applied against those who impiously denied or disrespected the local gods even if they believed in other gods. Modern translations of classical texts sometimes render atheos as "atheistic". As an abstract noun there was also (atheots) "atheism". Cicero transliterated the Greek word into the Latin atheos. The term found frequent use in the debate between early Christians and Hellenists with each side attributing it in the pejorative sense to the other.18

The term atheist (from Fr. athe) in the sense of "one who denies or disbelieves the existence of God"19 predates atheism in English being first found as early as 156620 and again in 1571.21 Atheist as a label of practical godlessness was used at least as early as 1577.22 The term atheism was derived from the French athisme and appears in English about 1587.23 An earlier work from about 1534 used the term atheonism.2425 Related words emerged later: deist in 162126 theist in 166227 deism in 167528 and theism in 1678.29 At that time "deist" and "deism" already carried their modern meaning. The term theism came to be contrasted with deism.

Karen Armstrong writes that "During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries the word 'atheist' was still reserved exclusively for polemic ... The term 'atheist' was an insult. Nobody would have dreamed of calling himself an atheist."7 In the middle of the seventeenth century it was still assumed that it was impossible not to believe in God;30 atheist meant not accepting the current conception of the divine.31

Atheism was first used to describe a self-avowed belief in late 18th-century Europe specifically denoting disbelief in the monotheistic Abrahamic god.32 In the 20th century globalization contributed to the expansion of the term to refer to disbelief in all deities though it remains common in Western society to describe atheism as simply "disbelief in God".33 Some atheists have doubted the very nature of the term "atheism". In his book Letter to a Christian Nation Sam Harris wrote:34 In fact "atheism" is a term that should not even exist. No one ever needs to identify himself as a "non-astrologer" or a "non-alchemist." We do not have words for people who doubt that Elvis is still alive or that aliens have traversed the galaxy only to molest ranchers and their cattle. Atheism is nothing more than the noises reasonable people make in the presence of unjustified religious beliefs. Definitions and distinctions A diagram showing the relationship between the definitions of weak/strong and implicit/explicit atheism. Explicit strong/positive/hard atheists (in purple on the right) assert that "at least one deity exists" is a false statement. Explicit weak/negative/soft atheists (in blue on the right) reject or eschew belief that any deities exist without actually asserting that "at least one deity exists" is a false statement. Implicit weak/negative atheists (in blue on the left) would include people (such as young children and some agnostics) who do not believe in a deity but have not explicitly rejected such belief. (Sizes in the diagram are not meant to indicate relative sizes within a population.) Writers disagree how best to define and classify atheism35 contesting what supernatural entities it applies to whether it is an assertion in its own right or merely the absence of one and whether it requires a conscious explicit rejection. A variety of categories have been proposed to try to distinguish the different forms of atheism. Range Some of the ambiguity and controversy involved in defining atheism arises from difficulty in reaching a consensus for the definitions of words like deity and god. The plurality of wildly different conceptions of god and deities leads to differing ideas regarding atheism's applicability. The ancient Romans accused Christians of being atheists for not worshiping the pagan deities. Gradually this view fell into disfavor as theism came to be understood as encompassing belief in any divinity.33 With respect to the range of phenomena being rejected atheism may counter anything from the existence of a deity to the existence of any spiritual supernatural or transcendental concepts such as those of Buddhism Hinduism Jainism and Taoism.36 Implicit vs. explicit Main article: Implicit and explicit atheism Definitions of atheism also vary in the degree of consideration a person must put to the idea of gods to be considered an atheist. Atheism has sometimes been defined to include the simple absence of belief that any deities exist. This broad definition would include newborns and other people who have not been exposed to theistic ideas. As far back as 1772 Baron d'Holbach said that "All children are born Atheists; they have no idea of God."37 Similarly George H. Smith (1979) suggested that: "The man who is unacquainted with theism is an atheist because he does not believe in a god. This category would also include the child with the conceptual capacity to grasp the issues involved but who is still unaware of those issues. The fact that this child does not believe in god qualifies him as an atheist."38 Smith coined the term implicit atheism to refer to "the absence of theistic belief without a conscious rejection of it" and explicit atheism to refer to the more common definition of conscious disbelief. Ernest Nagel contradicts Smith's definition of atheism as merely "absence of theism" acknowledging only explicit atheism as true "atheism".39 Positive vs. negative Main article: Negative and positive atheism Philosophers such as Antony Flew40 and Michael Martin33 have contrasted positive (strong/hard) atheism with negative (weak/soft) atheism. Positive atheism is the explicit affirmation that gods do not exist. Negative atheism includes all other forms of non-theism. According to this categorization anyone who is not a theist is either a negative or a positive atheist.41 The terms weak and strong are relatively recent while the terms negative and positive atheism are of older origin having been used (in slightly different ways) in the philosophical literature40 and in Catholic apologetics.42 Under this demarcation of atheism most agnostics qualify as negative atheists. While Martin for example asserts that agnosticism entails negative atheism33 most agnostics see their view as distinct from atheism which they may consider no more justified than theism or requiring an equal conviction.43 The assertion of unattainability of knowledge for or against the existence of gods is sometimes seen as indication that atheism requires a leap of faith.44 Common atheist responses to this argument include that unproven religious propositions deserve as much disbelief as all other unproven propositions45 and that the unprovability of a god's existence does not imply equal probability of either possibility.46 Scottish philosopher J. J. C. Smart even argues that "sometimes a person who is really an atheist may describe herself even passionately as an agnostic because of unreasonable generalised philosophical skepticism which would preclude us from saying that we know anything whatever except perhaps the truths of mathematics and formal logic."47 Consequently some atheist authors such as Richard Dawkins prefer distinguishing theist agnostic and atheist positions by the probability that each assigns to the statement "God exists".48 Definition as impossible or impermanent Before the 18th century the existence of God was so universally accepted in the western world that even the possibility of true atheism was questioned. This is called theistic innatismthe notion that all people believe in God from birth; within this view was the connotation that atheists are simply in denial.49 There is also a position claiming that atheists are quick to believe in God in times of crisis that atheists make deathbed conversions or that "there are no atheists in foxholes."50 Some proponents of this view claim that a benefit of religion is that religious faith enables humans to endure hardships better functioning as an "opium of the people". There have however been examples to the contrary among them examples of literal "atheists in foxholes."51 Other usage of the term "positive atheism" As mentioned above the terms negative and positive have been used in philosophical literature in a similar manner to the terms weak and strong. However the book Positive Atheism by Goparaju Ramachandra Rao first published in 1972 introduced an alternative use for the phrase.52 Having grown up in a hierarchical system with a religious basis Gora called for a secular India and suggested guidelines for a positive atheist philosophy meaning one that promotes positive values.53 Positive atheism defined this way entails such things as being morally upright showing an understanding that religious people have reasons to believe not proselytising or lecturing others about atheism and defending oneself with truthfulness instead of aiming to "win" any confrontations with outspoken critics. Philosophical concepts Paul Henri Thiry Baron d'Holbach an 18th century advocate of atheism. "The source of man's unhappiness is his ignorance of Nature. The pertinacity with which he clings to blind opinions imbibed in his infancy which interweave themselves with his existence the consequent prejudice that warps his mind that prevents its expansion that renders him the slave of fiction appears to doom him to continual error." The System of Nature 54 The broadest demarcation of atheistic rationale is between practical and theoretical atheism. Practical atheism Main article: Apatheism In practical or pragmatic atheism also known as apatheism individuals live as if there are no gods and explain natural phenomena without resorting to the divine. The existence of gods is not rejected but may be designated unnecessary or useless; gods neither provide purpose to life nor influence everyday life according to this view.55 A form of practical atheism with implications for the scientific community is methodological naturalismthe "tacit adoption or assumption of philosophical naturalism within scientific method with or without fully accepting or believing it."56 Practical atheism can take various forms: Absence of religious motivationbelief in gods does not motivate moral action religious action or any other form of action; Active exclusion of the problem of gods and religion from intellectual pursuit and practical action; Indifferencethe absence of any interest in the problems of gods and religion; or Unawareness of the concept of a deity.57 Theoretical atheism Ontological arguments Further information: Agnostic atheism and Theological noncognitivism Theoretical (or theoric) atheism explicitly posits arguments against the existence of gods responding to common theistic arguments such as the argument from design or Pascal's Wager. Actually the theoretical atheism is mainly an ontology precisely a physical ontology. Epistemological arguments Further information: Agnostic atheism and Theological noncognitivism Epistemological atheism argues that people cannot know a God or determine the existence of a God. The foundation of epistemological atheism is agnosticism which takes a variety of forms. In the philosophy of immanence divinity is inseparable from the world itself including a person's mind and each person's consciousness is locked in the subject. According to this form of agnosticism this limitation in perspective prevents any objective inference from belief in a god to assertions of its existence. The rationalistic agnosticism of Kant and the Enlightenment only accepts knowledge deduced with human rationality; this form of atheism holds that gods are not discernible as a matter of principle and therefore cannot be known to exist. Skepticism based on the ideas of Hume asserts that certainty about anything is impossible so one can never know the existence of a God. The allocation of agnosticism to atheism is disputed; it can also be regarded as an independent basic worldview.55 Other arguments for atheism that can be classified as epistemological or ontological including logical positivism and ignosticism assert the meaninglessness or unintelligibility of basic terms such as "God" and statements such as "God is all-powerful." Theological noncognitivism holds that the statement "God exists" does not express a proposition but is nonsensical or cognitively meaningless. It has been argued both ways as to whether such individuals can be classified into some form of atheism or agnosticism. Philosophers A. J. Ayer and Theodore M. Drange reject both categories stating that both camps accept "God exists" as a proposition; they instead place noncognitivism in its own category.5859 Metaphysical arguments Further information: Monism and Physicalism One author writes: "Metaphysical atheism... includes all doctrines that hold to metaphysical monism (the homogeneity of reality). Metaphysical atheism may be either: a) absolute an explicit denial of God's existence associated with materialistic monism (all materialistic trends both in ancient and modern times); b) relative the implicit denial of God in all philosophies that while they accept the existence of an absolute conceive of the absolute as not possessing any of the attributes proper to God: transcendence a personal character or unity. Relative atheism is associated with idealistic monism (pantheism panentheism deism)."60 Epicurus is credited with first expounding the problem of evil. David Hume in his Dialogues concerning Natural Religion (1779) cited Epicurus in stating the argument as a series of questions:61 "Is God willing to prevent evil but not able then is he impotent. Is he able but not willing then is he malevolent. Is he both able and willing whence then is evil" Logical arguments Further information: Deductive arguments against the existence of God Problem of evil Divine hiddenness Logical atheism holds that the various conceptions of gods such as the personal god of Christianity are ascribed logically inconsistent qualities. Such atheists present deductive arguments against the existence of God which assert the incompatibility between certain traits such as perfection creator-status immutability omniscience omnipresence omnipotence omnibenevolence transcendence personhood (a personal being) nonphysicality justice and mercy.62 Theodicean atheists believe that the world as they experience it cannot be reconciled with the qualities commonly ascribed to God and gods by theologians. They argue that an omniscient omnipotent and omnibenevolent God is not compatible with a world where there is evil and suffering and where divine love is hidden from many people.63 A similar argument is attributed to Siddhartha Gautama the founder of Buddhism.64 Reductionary accounts of religion Further information: Evolutionary origin of religions Evolutionary psychology of religion and Psychology of religion Philosophers such as Ludwig Feuerbach65 and Sigmund Freud argued that God and other religious beliefs are human inventions created to fulfill various psychological and emotional wants or needs. This is also a view of many Buddhists.66 Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels influenced by the work of Feuerbach argued that belief in God and religion are social functions used by those in power to oppress the working class. According to Mikhail Bakunin "the idea of God implies the abdication of human reason and justice; it is the most decisive negation of human liberty and necessarily ends in the enslavement of mankind in theory and practice." He reversed Voltaire's famous aphorism that if God did not exist it would be necessary to invent him writing instead that "if God really existed it would be necessary to abolish him."67 Alternatives Further information: Philosophical anthropology and Humanism Axiological or constructive atheism rejects the existence of gods in favor of a "higher absolute" such as humanity. This form of atheism favors humanity as the absolute source of ethics and values and permits individuals to resolve moral problems without resorting to God. Marx and Freud used this argument to convey messages of liberation full-development and unfettered happiness.55 One of the most common criticisms of atheism has been to the contrarythat denying the existence of a god leads to moral relativism leaving one with no moral or ethical foundation68 or renders life meaningless and miserable.69 Blaise Pascal argued this view in his Penses.70 Atheist existentialism French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre identified himself as a representative of an "atheist existentialism"71 concerned less with denying the existence of God than with establishing that "man needs ... to find himself again and to understand that nothing can save him from himself not even a valid proof of the existence of God."72 Sartre said a corollary of his atheism was that "if God does not exist there is at least one being in whom existence precedes essence a being who exists before he can be defined by any concept and ... this being is man."71 The practical consequence of this atheism was described by Sartre as meaning that there are no a priori rules or absolute values that can be invoked to govern human conduct and that humans are "condemned" to invent these for themselves making "man" absolutely "responsible for everything he does".73 Academic Rhiannon Goldthorpe suggested that some of Sartre's writing was "pervaded by a 'Christian atheism' in which ancient beliefs still feed the imagination and the sensibility of the most hardened skeptic".74 Academic Stephen Priest described Sartre's perspective as "an atheistic metaphysics".75 Sartre translator Hazel Barnes wrote of Sartre: "The God he rejects is not some vague power an unknown X which would account for the origin of the universe nor is it an ideal or a mythus to symbolize man's quest for the Good. It is specifically the God of the Scholastics or at least any idea of God as a specific all powerful absolute existing Creator."76 History Main article: History of atheism Although the term atheism originated in 16th-century France23 ideas that would be recognized today as atheistic are documented from the Vedic period and the classical antiquity. Early Indic religion Main article: Atheism in Hinduism Atheistic schools are found in early Indian thought and have existed from the times of the historical Vedic religion.77 Among the six orthodox schools of Hindu philosophy; Samkhya the oldest philosophical system do not accept God and the early Mimamsa also rejected the notion of God.78 The early Mimamsa not only did not accept God but asserted that human action itself was enough to create the necessary circumstances for the enjoyment of its fruits.79 The thoroughly materialistic and anti-theistic philosophical Crvka (also called Nastika or Lokaiata) school that originated in India around the 6th century BCE is probably the most explicitly atheistic school of philosophy in India similar to the Greek Cyrenaic school. This branch of Indian philosophy is classified as heterodox due to its rejection of the authority of Vedas and hence is not considered part of the six orthodox schools of Hinduism but it is noteworthy as evidence of a materialistic movement within Hinduism.80 Chatterjee and Datta explain that our understanding of Crvka philosophy is fragmentary based largely on criticism of the ideas by other schools and that it is not a living tradition: "Though materialism in some form or other has always been present in India and occasional references are found in the Vedas the Buddhistic literature the Epics as well as in the later philosophical works we do not find any systematic work on materialism nor any organized school of followers as the other philosophical schools possess. But almost every work of the other schools states for refutation the materialistic views. Our knowledge of Indian materialism is chiefly based on these."81 Other Indian philosophies generally regarded as atheistic include Classical Samkhya and Purva Mimamsa. The rejection of a personal creator God is also seen in Jainism and Buddhism in India.82 Classical antiquity In Plato's Apology Socrates (pictured) was accused by Meletus of not believing in the gods. Western atheism has its roots in pre-Socratic Greek philosophy but did not emerge as a distinct world-view until the late Enlightenment.83 The 5th-century BCE Greek philosopher Diagoras is known as the "first atheist"84 and is cited as such by Cicero in his De Natura Deorum.85 Critias viewed religion as a human invention used to frighten people into following moral order.86 Atomists such as Democritus attempted to explain the world in a purely materialistic way without reference to the spiritual or mystical. Other pre-Socratic philosophers who probably had atheistic views included Prodicus and Protagoras. In the 3rd-century BCE the Greek philosophers Theodorus Cirenaicus8587 and Strato of Lampsacus88 also did not believe gods exist. Socrates (c. 471399 BCE) was accused of impiety (see Euthyphro dilemma) on the basis that he inspired questioning of the state gods.89 Although he disputed the accusation that he was a "complete atheist"90 saying that he could not be an atheist as he believed in spirits91 he was ultimately sentenced to death. Socrates also prays to various gods in Plato's dialogue Phaedrus92 and says "By Zeus" in the dialogue The Republic.93 Euhemerus (c. 330260 BCE) published his view that the gods were only the deified rulers conquerors and founders of the past and that their cults and religions were in essence the continuation of vanished kingdoms and earlier political structures.94 Although not strictly an atheist Euhemerus was later criticized for having "spread atheism over the whole inhabited earth by obliterating the gods".95 Atomic materialist Epicurus (c. 341270 BCE) disputed many religious doctrines including the existence of an afterlife or a personal deity; he considered the soul purely material and mortal. While Epicureanism did not rule out the existence of gods he believed that if they did exist they were unconcerned with humanity.96 The Roman poet Lucretius (c. 9955 BCE) agreed that if there were gods they were unconcerned with humanity and unable to affect the natural world. For this reason he believed humanity should have no fear of the supernatural. He expounds his Epicurean views of the cosmos atoms the soul mortality and religion in De rerum natura ("On the nature of things")97 which popularized Epicurus' philosophy in Rome.98 The Roman philosopher Sextus Empiricus held that one should suspend judgment about virtually all beliefsa form of skepticism known as Pyrrhonismthat nothing was inherently evil and that ataraxia ("peace of mind") is attainable by withholding one's judgment. His relatively large volume of surviving works had a lasting influence on later philosophers.99 The meaning of "atheist" changed over the course of classical antiquity. The early Christians were labeled atheists by non-Christians because of their disbelief in pagan gods.100 During the Roman Empire Christians were executed for their rejection of the Roman gods in general and Emperor-worship in particular. When Christianity became the state religion of Rome under Theodosius I in 381 heresy became a punishable offense.101 Early Middle Ages to the Renaissance The espousal of atheistic views was rare in Europe during the Early Middle Ages and Middle Ages (see Medieval Inquisition); metaphysics religion and theology were the dominant interests.102 There were however movements within this period that forwarded heterodox conceptions of the Christian God including differing views of the nature transcendence and knowability of God. Individuals and groups such as Johannes Scotus Eriugena David of Dinant Amalric of Bena and the Brethren of the Free Spirit maintained Christian viewpoints with pantheistic tendencies. Nicholas of Cusa held to a form of fideism he called docta ignorantia ("learned ignorance") asserting that God is beyond human categorization and our knowledge of God is limited to conjecture. William of Ockham inspired anti-metaphysical tendencies with his nominalistic limitation of human knowledge to singular objects and asserted that the divine essence could not be intuitively or rationally apprehended by human intellect. Followers of Ockham such as John of Mirecourt and Nicholas of Autrecourt furthered this view. The resulting division between faith and reason influenced later theologians such as John Wycliffe Jan Hus and Martin Luther.102 The Renaissance did much to expand the scope of freethought and skeptical inquiry. Individuals such as Leonardo da Vinci sought experimentation as a means of explanation and opposed arguments from religious authority. Other critics of religion and the Church during this time included Niccol Machiavelli Bonaventure des Priers and Franois Rabelais.99 Early modern period The Renaissance and Reformation eras witnessed a resurgence in religious fervor as evidenced by the proliferation of new religious orders confraternities and popular devotions in the Catholic world and the appearance of increasingly austere Protestant sects such as the Calvinists. This era of interconfessional rivalry permitted an even wider scope of theological and philosophical speculation much of which would later be used to advance a religiously skeptical world-view. Criticism of Christianity became increasingly frequent in the 17th and 18th centuries especially in France and England where there appears to have been a religious malaise according to contemporary sources. Some Protestant thinkers such as Thomas Hobbes espoused a materialist philosophy and skepticism toward supernatural occurrences while the Jewish-Dutch philosopher Baruch Spinoza rejected divine providence in favour of a panentheistic naturalism. By the late 17th century deism came to be openly espoused by intellectuals such as John Toland who coined the term "pantheist". Despite their ridicule of Christianity many deists held atheism in scorn. The first known atheist who threw off the mantle of deism bluntly denying the existence of gods was Jean Meslier a French priest who lived in the early 18th century.103 He was followed by other openly atheistic thinkers such as Baron d'Holbach and Jacques-Andr Naigeon.104 The philosopher David Hume developed a skeptical epistemology grounded in empiricism undermining the metaphysical basis of natural theology. Ludwig Feuerbach's The Essence of Christianity (1841) would greatly influence philosophers such as Engels Marx David Strauss Nietzsche and Max Stirner. He considered God to be a human invention and religious activities to be wish-fulfillment. For this he is considered the founding father of modern anthropology of religion. The French Revolution took atheism and anti-clerical deism outside the salons and into the public sphere. A major goal of the French revolution was a restructuring and subordination of the clergy with respect to the state through the Civil Constitution of the Clergy. Attempts to enforce it led to anti-clerical violence and the expulsion of many clergy from France. The chaotic political events in revolutionary Paris eventually enabled the more radical Jacobins to seize power in 1793 ushering in the Reign of Terror. The Jacobins were deists and introduced the Cult of the Supreme Being as a new French state religion. Some atheists surrounding Jacques Hbert instead sought to establish a Cult of Reason a form of atheistic pseudo-religion with a goddess personifying reason. Both movements in part contributed to attempts to forcibly de-Christianize France. The Cult of Reason ended after three years when its leadership including Jacques Hbert was guillotined by the Jacobins. The anti-clerical persecutions ended with the Thermidorian Reaction. The Napoleonic era institutionalized the secularization of French society and exported the revolution to northern Italy in the hopes of creating pliable republics. In the 19th century atheists contributed to political and social revolution facilitating the upheavals of 1848 the Risorgimento in Italy and the growth of an international socialist movement. In the latter half of the 19th century atheism rose to prominence under the influence of rationalistic and freethinking philosophers. Many prominent German philosophers of this era denied the existence of deities and were critical of religion including Ludwig Feuerbach Arthur Schopenhauer Max Stirner Karl Marx and Friedrich Nietzsche.105 Since 1900 See also: New Atheism Atheism in the 20th century particularly in the form of practical atheism advanced in many societies. Atheistic thought found recognition in a wide variety of other broader philosophies such as existentialism objectivism secular humanism nihilism anarchism logical positivism Marxism feminism106 and the general scientific and rationalist movement. Logical positivism and scientism paved the way for neopositivism analytical philosophy structuralism and naturalism. Neopositivism and analytical philosophy discarded classical rationalism and metaphysics in favor of strict empiricism and epistemological nominalism. Proponents such as Bertrand Russell emphatically rejected belief in God. In his early work Ludwig Wittgenstein attempted to separate metaphysical and supernatural language from rational discourse. A. J. Ayer asserted the unverifiability and meaninglessness of religious statements citing his adherence to the empirical sciences. Relatedly the applied structuralism of Lvi-Strauss sourced religious language to the human subconscious in denying its transcendental meaning. J. N. Findlay and J. J. C. Smart argued that the existence of God is not logically necessary. Naturalists and materialistic monists such as John Dewey considered the natural world to be the basis of everything denying the existence of God or immortality.47107 The 20th century also saw the political advancement of atheism spurred on by interpretation of the works of Marx and Engels. After the Russian Revolution of 1917 increased religious freedom for minority religions lasted for a few years before the policies of Stalinism turned towards repression of religion. Several communist states opposed religion and mandated state atheism108 including the former governments of the Soviet Union109110 Albania111112113 and currently China114115 North Korea115116 and Cuba.115117 Other leaders like E. V. Ramasami Naicker (Periyar) a prominent atheist leader of India fought against Hinduism and Brahmins for discriminating and dividing people in the name of caste and religion.118 This was highlighted in 1956 when he arranged for the erection of a statue depicting a Hindu god in a humble representation and made antitheistic statements.119 In 1966 Time magazine asked "Is God Dead"120 in response to the Death of God theological movement citing the estimation that nearly half of all people in the world lived under an anti-religious power and millions more in Africa Asia and South America seemed to lack knowledge of the one God.121 In 1967 the Albanian government under Enver Hoxha announced the closure of all religious institutions in the country declaring Albania the world's first officially atheist state122 although religious practice in Albania was restored in 1991. These regimes enhanced the negative associations of atheism especially where anti-communist sentiment was strong in the United States despite the fact that prominent atheists were anti-communist.123 Since the fall of the Berlin Wall the number of actively anti-religious regimes has reduced considerably. In 2006 Timothy Shah of the Pew Forum noted "a worldwide trend across all major religious groups in which God-based and faith-based movements in general are experiencing increasing confidence and influence vis--vis secular movements and ideologies."124 However Gregory S. Paul and Phil Zuckerman consider this a myth and suggest that the actual situation is much more complex and nuanced.125 The religiously motivated terrorist events of 9/11 and the partially successful attempts of the Discovery institute to change the American science curriculum to include creationist ideas together with support for those ideas from George W. Bush in 2005 all triggered the noted atheist authors Sam Harris Daniel C. Dennett Richard Dawkins Victor J. Stenger and Christopher Hitchens to publish books that were best sellers in America and worldwide.126 A 2010 survey found that those identifying themselves as atheists or agnostics are on average more knowledgeable about religion than followers of major faiths. Nonbelievers scored better on questions about tenets central to Protestant and Catholic faiths. Only Mormon and Jewish faithful scored as well as atheists and agnostics.127 Atheism 3.0 is a movement within atheism that does not believe in the existence of God but says that religion has been beneficial to both individuals and society and that eliminating it is of lesser importance than other things that need to be done.128129 Demographics Main article: Demographics of atheism Percentage of people in various European countries who said: "I don't believe there is any sort of spirit God or life force." (2005)130 It is difficult to quantify the number of atheists in the world. Respondents to religious-belief polls may define "atheism" differently or draw different distinctions between atheism non-religious beliefs and non-theistic religious and spiritual beliefs.131 A Hindu atheist would declare oneself as a Hindu although also being an atheist at the same time.132 A 2005 survey published in Encyclopdia Britannica found that the non-religious made up about 11.9% of the world's population and atheists about 2.3%. This figure did not include those who follow atheistic religions such as some Buddhists.15 A NovemberDecember 2006 poll published in the Financial Times gives rates for the United States and five European countries. The lowest rates of atheism were in the United states at only 4% while the rates of atheism in the European countries surveyed were considerably higher: Italy (7%) Spain (11%) Great Britain (17%) Germany (20%) and France (32%).16133 The European figures are similar to those of an official European Union survey which reported that 18% of the EU population do not believe in a god.134 Other studies have placed the estimated percentage of atheists agnostics and other nonbelievers in a personal god as low as single digits in Poland Romania Cyprus and some other European countries135 and up to 85% in Sweden 80% in Denmark 72% in Norway and 60% in Finland.14 According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics 19% of Australians have "no religion" a category that includes atheists.133 Between 64% and 65% of Japanese are atheists agnostics or do not believe in a god.14 Proportion of atheists and agnostics around the world. An international study has reported positive correlations between levels of education and not believing in a deity136 and the EU survey finds a positive correlation between leaving school early and believing in a God.134 A letter published in Nature in 1998 reported a survey suggesting that belief in a personal god or afterlife was at an all-time low among the members of the U.S. National Academy of Science 7.0% of whom believed in a personal god as compared with more than 85% of the general U.S. population.137 In contrast an article published by The University of Chicago Chronicle that discussed the above study stated that 76 percent of physicians believe in God more than the 7% of scientists above but still less than the 85% of the general population.138 In the same year Frank Sulloway of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Michael Shermer of California State University conducted a study which found in their polling sample of "credentialed" U.S. adults (12% had Ph.Ds and 62% were college graduates) 64% believed in God and there was a correlation indicating that religious conviction diminished with education level.139 An inverse correlation between religiosity and intelligence has been found by 39 studies carried out between 1927 and 2002 according to an article in Mensa Magazine.140 These findings broadly agree with a 1958 statistical meta-analysis by Professor Michael Argyle of the University of Oxford. He analyzed seven research studies that had investigated correlation between attitude to religion and measured intelligence among school and college students from the U.S. Although a clear negative correlation was found the analysis did not identify causality but noted that factors such as authoritarian family background and social class may also have played a part.141 Atheism religion and morality See also: Atheism and religion Criticism of atheism and Secular ethics Association with world views and social behaviors Sociologist Phil Zuckerman analyzed previous social science research on secularity and non-belief and concluded that societal well-being is positively correlated with irreligion. His findings relating specifically to atheism include:136142 Compared to religious people "atheists and secular people" are less nationalistic prejudiced antisemitic racist dogmatic ethnocentric close-minded and authoritarian. In the US in states with the highest percentages of atheists the murder rate is lower than average. In the most religious US states the murder rate is higher than average. Atheism and irreligion Because of its absence of a creator god Buddhism is commonly described as nontheistic. People who self-identify as atheists are often assumed to be irreligious but some sects within major religions reject the existence of a personal creator deity.143 In recent years certain religious denominations have accumulated a number of openly atheistic followers such as atheistic or humanistic Judaism144145 and Christian atheists.146147148 The strictest sense of positive atheism does not entail any specific beliefs outside of disbelief in any deity; as such atheists can hold any number of spiritual beliefs. For the same reason atheists can hold a wide variety of ethical beliefs ranging from the moral universalism of humanism which holds that a moral code should be applied consistently to all humans to moral nihilism which holds that morality is meaningless.149 Divine command vs. ethics Although it is a philosophical truism encapsulated in Plato's Euthyphro dilemma that the role of the gods in determining right from wrong is either unnecessary or arbitrary the argument that morality must be derived from God and cannot exist without a wise creator has been a persistent feature of political if not so much philosophical debate.150151152 Moral precepts such as "murder is wrong" are seen as divine laws requiring a divine lawmaker and judge. However many atheists argue that treating morality legalistically involves a false analogy and that morality does not depend on a lawmaker in the same way that laws do.153 Other atheists such as Friedrich Nietzsche have disagreed with this view and have stated that morality "has truth only if God is truthit stands or falls with faith in God."154155156 There exist normative ethical systems that do not require principles and rules to be given by a deity. Some include virtue ethics social contract Kantian ethics utilitarianism and Objectivism. Sam Harris has proposed that moral prescription (ethical rule making) is not just an issue to be explored by philosophy but that we can meaningfully practice a science of morality. Any such scientific system must nevertheless respond to the criticism embodied in the naturalistic fallacy.157 Philosophers Susan Neiman158 and Julian Baggini159 (among others) assert that behaving ethically only because of divine mandate is not true ethical behavior but merely blind obedience. Baggini argues that atheism is a superior basis for ethics claiming that a moral basis external to religious imperatives is necessary to evaluate the morality of the imperatives themselvesto be able to discern for example that "thou shalt steal" is immoral even if one's religion instructs itand that atheists therefore have the advantage of being more inclined to make such evaluations.160 The contemporary British political philosopher Martin Cohen has offered the more historically telling example of Biblical injunctions in favour of torture and slavery as evidence of how religious injunctions follow political and social customs rather than vice versa but also noted that the same tendency seems to be true of supposedly dispassionate and objective philosophers.161 Cohen extends this argument in more detail in Political Philosophy from Plato to Mao in the case of the Koran which he sees as having had a generally unfortunate role in preserving social codes from the early 7th century through changes in secular society.162 Dangers of religions See also: Criticism of religion Some prominent atheistssuch as Bertrand Russell Christopher Hitchens Sam Harris and Richard Dawkinshave criticized religions citing harmful aspects of religious practices and doctrines.163 Atheists have often engaged in debate with religious advocates and the debates sometimes address the issue of whether religions provide a net benefit to individuals and society. One argument that religions can be harmful made by atheists such as Sam Harris is that Western religions' reliance on divine authority lends itself to authoritarianism and dogmatism.164 Atheists have also cited data showing that there is a correlation between religious fundamentalism and extrinsic religion (when religion is held because it serves ulterior interests)165 and authoritarianism dogmatism and prejudice.166 These argumentscombined with historical events that are argued to demonstrate the dangers of religion such as the Crusades inquisitions witch trials and terrorist attackshave been used in response to claims of beneficial effects of belief in religion.167 Believers counter-argue that some regimes that espouse atheism such as in Soviet Russia have also been guilty of mass murder.168169 See also Book: Atheism Wikipedia Books are collections of articles that can be downloaded or ordered in print. Atheism portal Philosophy portal Religion portal Adevism Apostasy Atheist feminism Atheist existentialism Brights movement Discrimination against atheists Dysteleology Irreligion by country Jewish atheism List of atheists List of secularist organizations Out Campaign Secular religion Wealth and religion Notes Nielsen Kai (2010). "Atheism". Encyclopdia Britannica. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/40634/atheism. Retrieved 2011-04-09. "Atheism in general the critique and denial of metaphysical beliefs in God or spiritual beings.... Instead of saying that an atheist is someone who believes that it is false or probably false that there is a God a more adequate characterization of atheism consists in the more complex claim that to be an atheist is to be someone who rejects belief in God for the following reasons (which reason is stressed depends on how God is being conceived)...".  Edwards Paul (2005) 1967. "Atheism". In Donald M. Borchert. The Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Vol. 1 (2nd ed.). MacMillan Reference USA (Gale). p. 359. ISBN 0028657802. "On our definition an 'atheist' is a person who rejects belief in God regardless of whether or not his reason for the rejection is the claim that 'God exists' expresses a false proposition. People frequently adopt an attitude of rejection toward a position for reasons other than that it is a false proposition. It is common among contemporary philosophers and indeed it was not uncommon in earlier centuries to reject positions on the ground that they are meaningless. Sometimes too a theory is rejected on such grounds as that it is sterile or redundant or capricious and there are many other considerations which in certain contexts are generally agreed to constitute good grounds for rejecting an assertion.". (page 175 in 1967 edition) Rowe William L. (1998). "Atheism". In Edward Craig. Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9780415073103. http://books.google.ca/booksidlnuwFHM5o0C&pgPA530&lpgPA530&dqatheism+routledge&sourcebl&otsD7oHkocuKE&sigIOLNADKE-9gpnREO-S8QJfJft3g&hlen&ei3kpQS8sBYyQtgOKltGKCA&saX&oibookresult&ctresult&resnum7&ved0CB8Q6AEwBg#vonepage&qatheism%20routledge&ffalse. Retrieved 2011-04-09. "As commonly understood atheism is the position that affirms the nonexistence of God. So an atheist is someone who disbelieves in God whereas a theist is someone who believes in God. Another meaning of "atheism" is simply nonbelief in the existence of God rather than positive belief in the nonexistence of God. an atheist in the broader sense of the term is someone who disbelieves in every form of deity not just the God of traditional Western theology.".  Religioustolerance.org's short article on Definitions of the term "Atheism" suggests that there is no consensus on the definition of the term. Simon Blackburn summarizes the situation in The Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy: "Atheism. Either the lack of belief in a god or the belief that there is none". Most dictionaries (see the OneLook query for "atheism") first list one of the more narrow definitions. Runes Dagobert D.(editor) (1942 edition). Dictionary of Philosophy. New Jersey: Littlefield Adams & Co. Philosophical Library. ISBN 0-06-463461-2. http://www.ditext.com/runes/a.html. Retrieved 2011-04-09. "(a) the belief that there is no God; (b) Some philosophers have been called "atheistic" because they have not held to a belief in a personal God. Atheism in this sense means "not theistic". The former meaning of the term is a literal rendering. The latter meaning is a less rigorous use of the term though widely current in the history of thought"  entry by Vergilius Ferm "Definitions: Atheism". Department of Religious Studies University of Alabama. http://www.as.ua.edu/rel/aboutreldefinitions.html. Retrieved 2011-04-09.  a b Oxford English Dictionary (2nd ed.). 1989. "Belief in a deity or deities as opposed to atheism"  "Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary". http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/theism. Retrieved 2011-04-09. "belief in the existence of a god or gods"  a b Armstrong Karen (1999). A History of God. London: Vintage. ISBN 0-09-927367-5.  Honderich Ted (Ed.) (1995). "Humanism". The Oxford Companion to Philosophy. Oxford University Press. p 376. ISBN 0-19-866132-0. Fales Evan. "Naturalism and Physicalism" in Martin 2007 pp. 122131. Baggini 2003 pp. 34. Cline Austin (2005). "Buddhism and Atheism". about.com. http://atheism.about.com/b/2005/11/28/buddhism-and-atheism.htm. Retrieved 2011-04-09.  Kedar Nath Tiwari (1997). Comparative Religion. Motilal Banarsidass. p. 50. ISBN 81-208-0293-4.  Chakravarti Sitansu (1991). Hinduism a way of life. Motilal Banarsidass Publ.. p. 71. ISBN 978-81-208-0899-7. http://books.google.com/idJ-rASTgw8wC&pgPA71. Retrieved 2011-04-09.  a b c Zuckerman Phil (2007). Martin Michael T. ed. The Cambridge companion to atheism. Cambridge England: Cambridge University Press. p. 56. ISBN 0-521-84270-0. http://books.google.com/booksidtAeFipOVx4MC&pgPA56. Retrieved 2011-04-09.  a b "Worldwide Adherents of All Religions by Six Continental Areas Mid-2005". Encyclopdia Britannica. 2005. http://search.eb.com/eb/article-9432620. Retrieved 2007-04-15.  2.3% Atheists: Persons professing atheism skepticism disbelief or irreligion including the militantly antireligious (opposed to all religion). 11.9% Nonreligious: Persons professing no religion nonbelievers agnostics freethinkers uninterested or dereligionized secularists indifferent to all religion but not militantly so. a b "Religious Views and Beliefs Vary Greatly by Country According to the Latest Financial Times/Harris Poll". Financial Times/Harris Interactive. 2006-12-20. http://www.harrisinteractive.com/news/allnewsbydate.aspNewsID1131. Retrieved 2011-04-09.  The word in any of its formsappears nowhere else in the Septuagint or the New Testament. Robertson A.T. (1960) 1932. "Ephesians: Chapter 2". Word Pictures in the New Testament. Broadman Press. http://www.ccel.org/r/robertsonat/wordpictures/htm/EPH2.RWP.html. Retrieved 2011-04-09. "Old Greek word not in LXX only here in N.T. Atheists in the original sense of being without God and also in the sense of hostility to God from failure to worship him. See Paul's words in Ro 1:1832."  Drachmann A. B. (1977 ("an unchanged reprint of the 1922 edition")). Atheism in Pagan Antiquity. Chicago: Ares Publishers. ISBN 0-89005-201-8. http://books.google.com/idcguq-yNiiQC&dqAtheism+in+Pagan+Antiquity&printsecfrontcover&q. "Atheism and atheist are words formed from Greek roots and with Greek derivative endings. Nevertheless they are not Greek; their formation is not consonant with Greek usage. In Greek they said atheos and atheots; to these the English words ungodly and ungodliness correspond rather closely. In exactly the same way as ungodly atheos was used as an expression of severe censure and moral condemnation; this use is an old one and the oldest that can be traced. Not till later do we find it employed to denote a certain philosophical creed."  OED Atheist Martiall John (1566). A Replie to Mr Calfhills Blasphemous Answer Made Against the Treatise of the Cross. English recusant literature 15581640. 203. Louvain. p. 51. http://books.google.com/booksid20snAQAAIAAJ&q%22to%20entre#vsnippet&qatheist&ffalse. Retrieved 2011-04-09.  Rendered as Atheistes: Golding Arthur (1571). The Psalmes of David and others with J. Calvin's commentaries. pp. Ep. Ded. 3. "The Atheistes which say..there is no God."  Translated from Latin. Hanmer Meredith (1577). The auncient ecclesiasticall histories of the first six hundred years after Christ written by Eusebius Socrates and Evagrius. London. p. 63. OCLC 55193813. "The opinion which they conceaue of you to be Atheists or godlesse men."  a b Rendered as Athisme: de Mornay Philippe (1587). A Woorke Concerning the Trewnesse of the Christian Religion: Against Atheists Epicures Paynims Iewes Mahumetists and other infidels De la vrite de la religion chrstienne (1581). Translated from French by Arthur Golding & Philip Sidney. London. pp. xx. 310. "Athisme that is to say vtter godlesnes."  Vergil Polydore (c1534). English history. http://books.google.ca/booksidgW-gAAAAMAAJ&printsecfrontcover&dqvergil+english+history&hlen&eiPtgTa22BZL2swPzuYCeCA&saX&oibookresult&ctresult&resnum1&ved0CCoQ6AEwAA#vonepage&qGodd%20would%20not&ffalse. Retrieved 2011-04-09. "Godd would not longe suffer this impietie or rather atheonisme."  The Oxford English Dictionary also records an earlier irregular formation atheonism dated from about 1534. The later and now obsolete words athean and atheal are dated to 1611 and 1612 respectively. prep. by J. A. Simpson ... (1989). The Oxford English Dictionary (Second ed.). Oxford University Press USA. ISBN 0-19-861186-2.  Burton Robert (1621) "deist" The Anatomy of Melancholy: Part III section IV. II. i http://books.google.com/booksidcPgveWnCdRcC&printsecfrontcover&dqanatomy+of+melancholy&hlen&eip610TbKxEYi-sQOk5dDwDg&saX&oibookresult&ctresult&resnum1&ved0CCwQ6AEwAA#vonepage&qdeists&ffalse retrieved 2011-04-09 "Cousin-germans to these men are many of our great Philosophers and Deists"  Martin Edward (1662). "Five Letters". His opinion concerning the difference between the Church of England and Geneva etc.. London. p. 45. "To have said my office..twice a day..among Rebels Theists Atheists Philologers Wits Masters of Reason Puritanes etc.."  Bailey Nathan (1675). An universal etymological English dictionary. http://books.google.com/booksidCFBGAAAAYAAJ&pgPT255&dqdeism&hlen&eiYq50TcHSNIH4swOAltHHCw&saX&oibookresult&ctresult&resnum3&ved0CDYQ6AEwAg#vonepage&qdeism&ffalse. Retrieved 2011-04-09.  "Secondly that nothing out of nothing in the sense of the atheistic objectors viz. that nothing which once was not could by any power whatsoever be brought into being is absolutely false; and that if it were true it would make no more against theism than it does against atheism.." Cudworth Ralph. The true intellectual system of the universe. 1678. Chapter V Section II p.73 "17th Century History Investigating Atheism". Investigatingatheism.info. http://www.investigatingatheism.info/historyseventeenth.html. Retrieved 2011-04-09.  Google.co.uk In part because of its wide use in monotheistic Western society atheism is usually described as "disbelief in God" rather than more generally as "disbelief in deities". A clear distinction is rarely drawn in modern writings between these two definitions but some archaic uses of atheism encompassed only disbelief in the singular God not in polytheistic deities. It is on this basis that the obsolete term adevism was coined in the late 19th century to describe an absence of belief in plural deities. Britannica (1911). "Atheonism". Encyclopdia Britannica.  a b c d Martin Michael. The Cambridge Companion to Atheism. Cambridge University Press. 2006. ISBN 0-521-84270-0. Harris Sam (2008). Letter to a Christian Nation. Random House Vintage Books. p. 51. ISBN 978-0-307-27877-7. http://books.google.com/booksidypyMZlkgHGIC&pgPA51&dqIn+fact+%22atheism%22+is+a+term+that+should+not+even+exist.+No+one+ever+needs+to+identify+himself+as+a+%22non-astrologer%22+or+a+%22non-alchemist.%22+We+do+not+have+words+for+people+who+doubt+that+Elvis+is+still+alive+or+that+aliens+have+traversed+the+galaxy+only+to&hlen&eiSMH6TKZhw4LyBvWI5coL&saX&oibookresult&ctresult&resnum1&ved0CCMQ6AEwAA#vonepage&qIn%20fact%2C%20%22atheism%22%20is%20a%20term%20that%20should%20not%20even%20exist.%20No%20one%20ever%20needs%20to%20identify%20himself%20as%20a%20%22non-astrologer%22%20or%20a%20%22non-alchemist.%22%20We%20do%20not%20have%20words%20for%20people%20who%20doubt%20that%20Elvis%20is%20still%20alive%20or%20that%20aliens%20have%20traversed%20the%20galaxy%20only%20to&ffalse. Retrieved 2011-04-09.  "Atheism". Encyclopedia Britannica. 1911. http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Atheism. Retrieved 2011-04-09.  Britannica (2011). "Atheism as rejection of religious beliefs". Encyclopdia Britannica. 1 (15th ed.). p. 666. 0852294735. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/40634/atheism. Retrieved 2011-04-09.  d'Holbach P. H. T. (1772). Good Sense. http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/7319. Retrieved 2011-04-07.  Smith 1979 p. 14. Nagel Ernest (1959). "Philosophical Concepts of Atheism". Basic Beliefs: The Religious Philosophies of Mankind. Sheridan House. "I shall understand by "atheism" a critique and a denial of the major claims of all varieties of theism... atheism is not to be identified with sheer unbelief... Thus a child who has received no religious instruction and has never heard about God is not an atheist for he is not denying any theistic claims. Similarly in the case of an adult who if he has withdrawn from the faith of his father without reflection or because of frank indifference to any theological issue is also not an atheist for such an adult is not challenging theism and not professing any views on the subject."  reprinted in Critiques of God edited by Peter A. Angeles Prometheus Books 1997. a b Flew Antony (1976). The Presumption of Atheism and other Philosophical Essays on God Freedom and Immortality. New York: Barnes and Noble. pp. 14ff. "In this interpretation an atheist becomes: not someone who positively asserts the non-existence of God; but someone who is simply not a theist. Let us for future ready reference introduce the labels 'positive atheist' for the former and 'negative atheist' for the latter."  Cline Austin (2006). "Strong Atheism vs. Weak Atheism: What's the Difference". about.com. http://atheism.about.com/od/atheismquestions/a/strongweak.htm. Retrieved 2011-04-09.  Maritain Jacques (July 1949). "On the Meaning of Contemporary Atheism". The Review of Politics 11 (3): 267280. doi:10.1017/S0034670500044168. http://www.nd.edu/Departments/Maritain/jm3303.htm.  Kenny Anthony (2006). "Why I Am Not an Atheist". What I believe. Continuum. ISBN 0-8264-8971-0. "The true default position is neither theism nor atheism but agnosticism ... a claim to knowledge needs to be substantiated; ignorance need only be confessed."  "Many atheists I know would be certain of a high place in heaven". Irish Times. http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/opinion/2009/0725/1224251303564.html. Retrieved 2011-04-09.  Baggini 2003 pp. 3034. "Who seriously claims we should say 'I neither believe nor disbelieve that the Pope is a robot' or 'As to whether or not eating this piece of chocolate will turn me into an elephant I am completely agnostic'. In the absence of any good reasons to believe these outlandish claims we rightly disbelieve them we don't just suspend judgement." Baggini 2003 p. 22. "A lack of proof is no grounds for the suspension of belief. This is because when we have a lack of absolute proof we can still have overwhelming evidence or one explanation which is far superior to the alternatives." a b Smart J.C.C. (2004-03-09). "Atheism and Agnosticism". Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/atheism-agnosticism/. Retrieved 2011-04-09.  Dawkins Richard (2006). The God Delusion. Houghton Mifflin Co. p. 50. ISBN 0-618-68000-4.  Cudworth Ralph (1678). The True Intellectual System of the Universe: the first part wherein all the reason and philosophy of atheism is confuted and its impossibility demonstrated.  See for instance "Atheists call for church head to retract slur". 1996-09-03. http://www.lds-mormon.com/atheist.shtml. Retrieved 2011-04-09.  Lowder Jeffery Jay (1997). "Atheism and Society". http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/jefflowder/society.html. Retrieved 2011-04-09.  Rao Goparaju (1972). Positive Atheism. Vijayawada India: Atheist Centre Patamata Vijayawada India.  Walker Cliff. "The Philosophy of Positive Atheism". http://www.positiveatheism.org/faq/faq1111.htm#WHATISPOSATH. Retrieved 2011-04-09.  Paul Henri Thiry Baron d'Holbach System of Nature; or the Laws of the Moral and Physical World (London 1797) Vol. 1 p. 25 a b c Zdybicka 2005 p. 20. Schafersman Steven D. (February 1997). "Naturalism is an Essential Part of Science and Critical Inquiry". Conference on Naturalism Theism and the Scientific Enterprise. Department of Philosophy The University of Texas. http://docs.google.com/viewerav&qcache:NSuw6hjnw0J:www.tcnj.edu/scholars/111%2520Evolution%2520FSP/NATURALISM%2520IS%2520AN%2520ESSENTIAL%2520PART%2520OF%2520SCIENCE%2520AND%2520CRITICAL%2520INQUIRY.doc+Naturalism+is+an+Essential+Part+of+Science+and+Critical+Inquiry&hlen&glca&pidbl&srcidADGEESiOoQ0c8zeA-NUM5qRN7EZqXoJs8b3hGUyuOedNRD9OheY2WLJHpdgNCsxwDJ0iJVdxIhSyytGXR-RXodM3cV8JYd6mEmBRuSQhAsvgFyIDPrw2HT3KXZTEoujo4lXsMckPLn-U&sigAHIEtbS7vrl9TTdgC7ZY94opxblINuXYMw&pli1. Retrieved 2011-04-07.  Revised May 2007 Zdybicka 2005 p. 21. Drange Theodore M. (1998). "Atheism Agnosticism Noncognitivism". Internet Infidels Secular Web Library. Retrieved on 2007-APR-07. Ayer A. J. (1946). Language Truth and Logic. Dover. pp. 115116. In a footnote Ayer attributes this view to "Professor H. H. Price". Zdybicka 2005 p. 19. David Hume. Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion. Project Gutenberg (e-text). http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/4583. Retrieved 2011-04-08.  Various authors. "Logical Arguments for Atheism". Internet Infidels The Secular Web Library. Retrieved on 2007-APR-09. Drange Theodore M. (1996). "The Arguments From Evil and Nonbelief". Internet Infidels Secular Web Library. Retrieved 2007-04-18. V.A. Gunasekara "The Buddhist Attitude to God.". Archived from the original on 2008-01-02. http://web.archive.org/web/20080102053643/http://www.buddhistinformation.com/buddhistattitudetogod.htm.  In the Bhuridatta Jataka "The Buddha argues that the three most commonly given attributes of God viz. omnipotence omniscience and benevolence towards humanity cannot all be mutually compatible with the existential fact of dukkha." Feuerbach Ludwig (1841) The Essence of Christianity Walpola Rahula What the Buddha Taught. Grove Press 1974. Pages 5152. Bakunin Michael (1916). "God and the State". New York: Mother Earth Publishing Association. http://dwardmac.pitzer.edu/anarchistarchives/bakunin/godandstate/godandstatech1.html. Retrieved 2011-04-09.  Gleeson David (August 10 2006). "Common Misconceptions About Atheists and Atheism". American Chronicle. http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/12346. Retrieved 2011-04-07.  Smith 1979 p. 275. "Perhaps the most common criticism of atheism is the claim that it leads inevitably to moral bankruptcy." Pascal Blaise (1669). Penses II: "The Misery of Man Without God". a b Sartre Jean-Paul (2004) "An existentialist ethics" in Gensler Harry J.; Spurgin Earl W.; Swindal James C. Ethics: Contemporary Readings London: Routledge p. 127 ISBN 0-415-25680-1  Sartre Jean-Paul (2001) "Existentialism and Humanism" in Priest Stephen Jean-Paul Sartre: Basic Writings London: Routledge p. 45 ISBN 0-415-21367-3  Sartre Jean-Paul (2001) "Existentialism and Humanism" in Priest Stephen Jean-Paul Sartre: Basic Writings London: Routledge p. 32 ISBN 0-415-21367-3  Goldthorpe Rhiannon (1992) "Understanding the committed writer" The Cambridge Companion to Sartre Cambridge UK: Cambridge University Press p. 172  Priest Stephen (2001) "Sartre in the world" in Priest Stephen Jean-Paul Sartre: Basic Writings London: Routledge p. 13 ISBN 0-415-21367-3  Barnes Hazel (1957) 1943 "Translator's Introduction" (Sartre Jean-Paul) Being and Nothingness: An Essay on Phenomenological Ontology (trans. Barnes Hazel) New York: Philosophical Library p. xxvii  Pandian (1996). India that is sidd. Allied Publishers. p. 64. ISBN 978-81-7023-561-3. http://books.google.com/idB90uj14NHjMC&pgPA64. Retrieved 2011-04-09.  Dasgupta Surendranath (1992). A history of Indian philosophy Volume 1. Motilal Banarsidass Publ.. p. 258. ISBN 978-81-208-0412-8. http://books.google.com/idPoaMFmS1lEC&pgPA258. Retrieved 2011-04-09.  Tripathi (2001). Psycho-Religious Studies of Man Mind and Nature. Global Vision Publishing House. p. 81. ISBN 978-81-87746-04-1. http://books.google.com/idzWFMSaX24AC&pgPA81. Retrieved 2011-04-09.  Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan and Charles A. Moore. A Sourcebook in Indian Philosophy. (Princeton University Press: 1957 Twelfth Princeton Paperback printing 1989) pp. 227249. ISBN 0-691-01958-4. Satischandra Chatterjee and Dhirendramohan Datta. An Introduction to Indian Philosophy. Eighth Reprint Edition. (University of Calcutta: 1984). p. 55. Joshi L.R. (1966). "A New Interpretation of Indian Atheism". Philosophy East and West 16 (3/4): 189206. doi:10.2307/1397540. JSTOR 1397540.  Baggini 2003 pp. 7374. "Atheism had its origins in Ancient Greece but did not emerge as an overt and avowed belief system until late in the Enlightenment." Solmsen Friedrich (1942). Plato's Theology. Cornell University Press. p 25. a b ...nullos esse omnino Diagoras et Theodorus Cirenaicus... Cicero Marcus Tullius: De natura deorum. Comments and English text by Richard D. McKirahan. Thomas Library Bryn Mawr College 1997 page 3. ISBN 0-929524-89-6 "religion study of". (2007). In Encyclopdia Britannica. Retrieved on April 2 2007. Diogenes Lartius The Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers ii Cicero Lucullus 121. in Reale G. A History of Ancient Philosophy. SUNY Press. (1985). "Atheism". The Columbia Encyclopedia Sixth Edition. Columbia University Press. 2005. Archived from the original on 2006-11-04. http://web.archive.org/web/20061104032305/http://www.bartleby.com/65/at/atheism.html. Retrieved 2011-04-09.  Brickhouse Thomas C.; Nicholas D. Smith (2004). Routledge Philosophy Guidebook to Plato and the Trial of Socrates. Routledge. p. 112. ISBN 0-415-15681-5.  In particular he argues that the claim he is a complete atheist contradicts the other part of the indictment that he introduced "new divinities". "Apology". Classics.mit.edu. http://classics.mit.edu/Plato/apology.html. Retrieved 2011-04-09.  "The Dialogues of Plato vol. 1". Oll.libertyfund.org. http://oll.libertyfund.org/index.phpoptioncomstaticxt&staticfileshow.php&title111. Retrieved 2011-04-09.  "The Republic". Classics.mit.edu. http://classics.mit.edu/Plato/republic.html. Retrieved 2011-04-09.  Fragments of Euhemerus' work in Ennius' Latin translation have been preserved in Patristic writings (e.g. by Lactantius and Eusebius of Caesarea) which all rely on earlier fragments in Diodorus 54146 & 6.1. Testimonies especially in the context of polemical criticism are found e.g. in Callimachus Hymn to Zeus 8. Plutarch MoraliaIsis and Osiris 23 BBC. "Ethics and ReligionAtheism". bbc.co.uk. http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/atheism/. Retrieved 2011-04-09.  On the Nature of Things by Lucretius at Project Gutenberg Book I "Substance is Eternal". Translated by W.E. Leonard. 1997. Retrieved on 2007-APR-12. Julius Caesar (10044 BCE) who leaned considerably toward Epicureanism also rejected the idea of an afterlife which e.g. lead to his plea against the death sentence during the trial against Catiline where he spoke out against the Stoicist Cato (cf. Sallust The War With Catiline Caesar's speech: 51.29 & Cato's reply: 52.13). a b Stein Gordon (Ed.) (1980). "The History of Freethought and Atheism". An Anthology of Atheism and Rationalism. New York: Prometheus. Retrieved on 2007-APR-03. "Atheism" in the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia. Maycock A. L. and Ronald Knox (2003). Inquisition from Its Establishment to the Great Schism: An Introductory Study. ISBN 0-7661-7290-2. a b Zdybicka 2005 p. 4 "Michel Onfray on Jean Meslier". William Paterson University. http://ww3.wpunj.edu/newpol/issue40/Onfray40.htm. Retrieved 2011-04-07.  d'Holbach P. H. T. (1770). The System of Nature. 2. http://fulltextarchive.com/page/The-System-of-Nature-Vol-21/. Retrieved 2011-04-07.  Ray Matthew Alun (2003). Subjectivity and Irreligion: Atheism and Agnosticism in Kant Schopenhauer and Nietzsche. Ashgate Publishing Ltd.. ISBN 978-0-7546-3456-0. http://books.google.com/idBKz2FcDrFy0C&pgPA1&dqnietzsche+schopenhauer+marx+feuerbach. Retrieved 2011-04-09.  Overall Christine (2007). Feminism and Atheism. ISBN 978-0-521-84270-9. http://books.google.com/idtAeFipOVx4MC&pgPA233&lpgPA233&dq%22Feminism+and+Atheism%22&q%22Feminism%20and%20Atheism%22. Retrieved 2011-04-09.  in Martin 2007 pp. 233246 Zdybicka 2005 p. 16 Baggini Julian (Summer 2003). The Perils of Atheism. 118. New Humanist. http://newhumanist.org.uk/627/the-perils-of-atheism. Retrieved 2011-04-07.  Extract from his book Atheism: A Very Short Introduction (2003) Oxford University Press Tinatin Boorivili William Sweet Daniel R. Ahern. Politics ethics and challenges to democracy in 'new independent states'. Berghahn Books. http://books.google.com/booksidqzkttrhVe9gC&pgPA125&dqsoviet+union+state+atheism&hlen&eiib6iTf3AHO3OiAKIyMj5Ag&saX&oibookresult&ctresult&resnum1&ved0CCcQ6AEwADgU#vonepage&qsoviet%20union%20state%20atheism&ffalse. Retrieved 2011-03-05. "During the past 150 years in Azerbaijan Islam has experienced an ascendancy over the official Orthodoxy of the Russian Empire and then the state atheism of the Soviet Union."  Russian postmodernism: new perspectives on post-Soviet culture. Berghahn Books. http://books.google.com/booksid8pciFcaGXR0C&pgPA379&dqsoviet+union+state+atheism&hlen&eiXr2iTen1EIPegQfJgf3ZBQ&saX&oibookresult&ctresult&resnum9&ved0CFEQ6AEwCDgK#vonepage&qsoviet%20union%20state%20atheism&ffalse. Retrieved 2011-03-05. "The seven decades of Soviet atheism whether one calls it "mass atheism" "scientific atheism" "state atheism" was unquestionably a new phenomenon in world history."  William B. Simons Rijksuniversiteit te Leiden. The Constitutions of the Communist World. Springer. http://books.google.com/booksidaAtQZ0vjf5gC&pgPA18&dqThe+State+recognizes+no+religion+and+supports+and+carries+out+atheistic+propaganda+in+order+to+implant+a+scientific+materialistic+world+outlook+in+people&hlen&eirVCWTeC9Eoz2gAed572-CA&saX&oibookresult&ctresult&resnum3&ved0CDQQ6AEwAg#vonepage&q&ffalse. Retrieved 2011-03-05. "Article 37. The State recognizes no religion and supports and carries out atheist propaganda in order to implant a scientific materialist world outlook in people."  Robert Elsie. A Dictionary of Albanian Religion Mythology and Folk culture. New York University Press. http://books.google.com/booksidaAtQZ0vjf5gC&pgPA18&dqThe+State+recognizes+no+religion+and+supports+and+carries+out+atheistic+propaganda+in+order+to+implant+a+scientific+materialistic+world+outlook+in+people&hlen&eirVCWTeC9Eoz2gAed572-CA&saX&oibookresult&ctresult&resnum3&ved0CDQQ6AEwAg#vonepage&q&ffalse. Retrieved 2011-03-05. "Article 37 of the Albanian constitution of 1976 stipulated "The State recognizes no religion and supports and carries out atheist propaganda in order to implant a scientific materialist world outlook in people.""  Richard Felix Staar. Communist Regimes in Eastern Europe. The Hoover Institution on War Revolution and Peace Stanford University. http://books.google.com/booksidugeMgomY7hAC&pgPA13&dqThe+State+recognizes+no+religion+and+supports+and+carries+out+atheistic+propaganda+in+order+to+implant+a+scientific+materialistic+world+outlook+in+people&hlen&eirVCWTeC9Eoz2gAed572-CA&saX&oibookresult&ctresult&resnum2&ved0CC8Q6AEwAQ#vonepage&qThe%20State%20recognizes%20no%20religion%2C%20and%20supports%20and%20carries%20out%20atheistic%20propaganda%20in%20order%20to%20implant%20a%20scientific%20materialistic%20world%20outlook%20in%20people&ffalse. Retrieved 2011-03-05. "By 1976 all places of worship had been closed. However the regime has had to admit that religion still maintains a following among Albanians. In order to suppress religious life the following article has been included in the 1976 constitution: "The state recognizes no religion and supports and carries out atheistic propaganda to implant the scientific materialistic world outlook in people" (Article 37). In its antireligious moves the regime has gone so far as to order persons to change their names if they are of a religious origin."  China in the 21st century. Oxford University Press. http://books.google.com/booksidX49uEF5XUX0C&pgPA108&dqstate+atheism+china&hlen&eic8GiTaLkEIXegQet67XaBQ&saX&oibookresult&ctresult&resnum2&ved0CDEQ6AEwAQ#vonepage&q&ffalse. Retrieved 2011-03-05. "China is still officially an atheist country but many religions are growing rapidly including evangelical Christianity (estimates of how many Chinese have converted to some form of Protestantism range widely but at least tens of millions have done so) and various hybrid sects that combine elements of traditional creeds and belief systems (Buddhism mixed with local folk cults for example)."  a b c The State of Religion Atlas. Simon & Schuster. http://books.google.com/booksidBY4YAQAAMAAJ&qnorth+korea+atheist+state&dqnorth+korea+atheist+state&hlen&eiwUabTedhhMuBB9U3I4H&saX&oibookresult&ctresult&resnum2&ved0CDEQ6AEwAQ. Retrieved 2011-03-05. "Atheism continues to be the official position of the governments of China North Korea and Cuba."  World and Its Peoples: Eastern and Southern Asia. Marshall Cavendish. http://books.google.com/booksidYG2AFyFppJQC&pgPA933&dqnorth+korea+atheist+state&hlen&eiwUabTedhhMuBB9U3I4H&saX&oibookresult&ctresult&resnum1&ved0CCwQ6AEwAA#vonepage&qnorth%20korea%20atheist%20state&ffalse. Retrieved 2011-03-05. "North Korea is officially an atheist state in which almost the entire population is nonreligious."  Freeing God's Children: The Unlikely Alliance for Global Human Rights. Rowman & Littlefield. http://books.google.com/booksidEkIvbxefBNsC&pgPA43&dqcuba+state+atheism&hlen&eidMCiTdTrHYegQfz0naBQ&saX&oibookresult&ctresult&resnum1&ved0CCkQ6AEwAA#vonepage&qcuba%20state%20atheism&ffalse. Retrieved 2011-03-05. "Cuba is the only country in the Americas that has attempted to impose state atheism and since the 1960s onward its jails have been filled with pastors and other believers."  Michael S. M. (1999). "Dalit Visions of a Just Society". In S. M. Michael (ed.). Untouchable: Dalits in Modern India. Lynne Rienner Publishers. pp. 3133. ISBN 1-55587-697-8.  "He who created god was a fool he who spreads his name is a scoundrel and he who worships him is a barbarian." Hiorth Finngeir (1996). "Atheism in South India". International Humanist and Ethical Union International Humanist News. Retrieved on 2007-05-30 TIME Magazine cover online. Apr 8 1966. Retrieved 2007-04-17. "Toward a Hidden God". Time Magazine online. Apr 8 1966. Retrieved 2007-04-17. Majeska George P. (1976). "Religion and Atheism in the U.S.S.R. and Eastern Europe Review". The Slavic and East European Journal 20 (2): 204206. http://links.jstor.org/sicisici0037-6752(197622)1%3A20%3A2%3C204%3ARAAITU%3E2.0.CO%3B2-G.  Rafford R.L. (1987). "Atheophobiaan introduction". Religious Humanism 21 (1): 3237.  "Timothy Samuel Shah Explains 'Why God is Winning'." 2006-07-18. The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. Retrieved 2011-04-07. Paul Gregory; Phil Zuckerman (2007). "Why the Gods Are Not Winning". Edge 209. http://www.edge.org/documents/archive/edge209.html#gp. Retrieved 2011-04-09.  Vermont Law Review Vol. 33:225 2008 Finding Shared Values in a Diverse Society: Lessons From the Intelligent Design Controversy by Alan E. Garfield (page 231). Landsberg Mitchell (September 28 2010). "Atheists agnostics most knowledgeable about religion survey says". Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/2010/sep/28/nation/la-na-religion-survey-20100928. Retrieved 2011-04-08.  "Atheism 3.0". October 15 2009. http://www.religionnews.com/index.php/rnspremiumtext/single/atheism30findsalittlemoreroomforbelief1. Retrieved 2011-04-08. "The "new" new atheists call it Atheism 3.0 say there's still no God but maybe belief isn't all that bad."  Sheiman Bruce. "The Great Debate Stalemate". http://www.anatheistdefendsreligion.com/index.phpid37&pageTheGreatDebateStalemate&divdivid37. Retrieved 2011-04-08. "I am making a broad statement about the affirmative role of religion in the contemporary world... Faith is one of the most powerful forces in human development and a strong impetus to personal transformation and collective progress. There are countless examples of individuals lifting themselves out of personal misery through faith... What is not in dispute is that religion is adaptive constructive and healthful and thereby makes a positive difference in peoples lives."  "ReportDGResearchSocialValuesEN2.PDF" (PDF). http://ec.europa.eu/publicopinion/archives/ebs/ebs225reporten.pdf. Retrieved 2011-04-09.  "Major Religions of the World Ranked by Number of Adherents Section on accuracy of non-Religious Demographic Data". http://www.adherents.com/ReligionsByAdherents.html#Nonreligious. Retrieved 2011-04-09.  Huxley Andrew (2002). Religion law and tradition: comparative studies in religious law. Routledge. p. 120. ISBN 978-0-7007-1689-0. http://books.google.com/idYsUMTA4MebwC. Retrieved 2011-04-09.  a b "Characteristics of the Population". Australian Bureau of Statistics. 2006. http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Lookup/1301.0Feature+Article7012009%E2%80%9310. Retrieved 2011-04-09.  a b (PDF) Social values Science and Technology. Directorate General Research European Union. 2005. pp. 711. http://ec.europa.eu/publicopinion/archives/ebs/ebs225reporten.pdf. Retrieved 2011-04-09.  Zuckerman Phil (2007). Martin Michael T. ed. The Cambridge companion to atheism. Cambridge England: Cambridge University Press. p. 51. ISBN 0-521-84270-0. http://books.google.com/booksidtAeFipOVx4MC&pgPA51. Retrieved 2011-04-09.  a b Zuckerman Phil (2009). "Atheism Secularity and Well-Being: How the Findings of Social Science Counter Negative Stereotypes and Assumptions". Sociology Compass 3 (6): 949971. doi:10.1111/j.1751-9020.2009.00247.x. http://www.pitzer.edu/academics/faculty/zuckerman/ZuckermanonAtheism.pdf.  Larson Edward J.; Larry Witham (1998). "Correspondence: Leading scientists still reject God". Nature 394 (6691): 3134. doi:10.1038/28478. PMID 9690462.  Available at StephenJayGould.org Stephen Jay Gould archive. Retrieved on 2006-12-17 "Survey on physicians religious beliefs shows majority faithful". The University of Chicago. http://chronicle.uchicago.edu/050714/doctorsfaith.shtml. Retrieved 201104-08. "The first study of physician religious beliefs has found that 76 percent of doctors believe in God and 59 percent believe in some sort of afterlife. The survey performed by researchers at the University and published in the July issue of the Journal of General Internal Medicine found that 90 percent of doctors in the United States attend religious services at least occasionally compared to 81 percent of all adults."  Shermer Michael (1999). How We Believe: Science Skepticism and the Search for God. New York: William H Freeman. pp. pp7679. ISBN 0-7167-3561-X.  According to Dawkins (2006) p. 103. Dawkins cites Bell Paul. "Would you believe it" Mensa Magazine UK Edition Feb. 2002 pp. 1213. Analyzing 43 studies carried out since 1927 Bell found that all but four reported such a connection and he concluded that "the higher one's intelligence or education level the less one is likely to be religious or hold 'beliefs' of any kind." Argyle Michael (1958). Religious Behaviour. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul. pp. 9396. ISBN 0-415-17589-5.  Societies without God are more benevolent The Guardian September 2 2010 Winston Robert (Ed.) (2004). Human. New York: DK Publishing Inc. p. 299. ISBN 0-7566-1901-7. "Nonbelief has existed for centuries. For example Buddhism and Jainism have been called atheistic religions because they do not advocate belief in gods."  "Humanistic Judaism". BBC. 2006-07-20. http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/judaism/subdivisions/humanistic.shtml. Retrieved 2011-04-09.  Levin S. (May 1995). "Jewish Atheism". New Humanist 110 (2): 1315.  "Christian Atheism". BBC. 2006-05-17. http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/atheism/types/christianatheism.shtml. Retrieved 2011-04-09.  Altizer Thomas J. J. (1967). The Gospel of Christian Atheism. London: Collins. pp. 102103. http://www.religion-online.org/showbook.asptitle523. Retrieved 2011-04-09.  Lyas Colin (January 1970). "On the Coherence of Christian Atheism". Philosophy: the Journal of the Royal Institute of Philosophy 45 (171): 119. doi:10.1017/S0031819100009578.  Smith 1979 pp. 2122 Smith 1979 p. 275. "Among the many myths associated with religion none is more widespread -or more disastrous in its effectsthan the myth that moral values cannot be divorced from the belief in a god." In Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov (Book Eleven: Brother Ivan Fyodorovich Chapter 4) there is the famous argument that If there is no God all things are permitted.: "'But what will become of men then' I asked him 'without God and immortal life All things are lawful then they can do what they like'" For Kant the presupposition of God soul and freedom was a practical concern for "Morality by itself constitutes a system but happiness does not unless it is distributed in exact proportion to morality. This however is possible in an intelligible world only under a wise author and ruler. Reason compels us to admit such a ruler together with life in such a world which we must consider as future life or else all moral laws are to be considered as idle dreams..." (Critique of Pure Reason A811). Baggini 2003 p. 38 Human Rights Virtue and the Common Good. Rowman & Littlefield. http://books.google.com/booksid19ccmx1W58IC&pgPA16&dqhas+truth+only+if+God+is+truth%E2%80%93it+stands+or+falls+with+faith+in+God&hlen&eia2R5TZLIBILxrAGTnvDCBQ&saX&oibookresult&ctresult&resnum5&ved0CEIQ6AEwBA#vonepage&qhas%20truth%20only%20if%20God%20is%20truth%E2%80%93it%20stands%20or%20falls%20with%20faith%20in%20God&ffalse. Retrieved 2011-04-09. "That problem was brought home to us with dazzling clarity by Nietzsche who had reflected more deeply than any of his contemporaries on the implications of godlessness and come to the conclusion that a fatal contradiction lay at the heart of modern theological enterprise: it thought that Christian morality which it wished to preserve was independent of Christian dogma which it rejected. This in Nietzsche's mind was an absurdity. It amounted to nothing less than dismissing the architect while trying to keep the building or getting rid of the lawgiver while claiming the protection of the law."  The Blackwell Companion to Natural Theology. Wiley-Blackwell. http://books.google.com/booksidg8bHRrVu3SsC&pgPA392&dqthere+is+no+God+there+is+no+morality+Nietzsche&hlen&einl95TdmvIJH5rAHI-u3vBQ&saX&oibookresult&ctresult&resnum9&ved0CFMQ6AEwCA#vonepage&qthere%20is%20no%20God%20there%20is%20no%20morality%20Nietzsche&ffalse. Retrieved 2011-04-09. "Morality "has truth only if God is truthit stands or falls with faith in God" (Nietzche 1968 p. 70). The moral argument for the existence of God essentially takes Nietzche's assertion as one of its premises: if there is no God then "there are altogether no moral facts.""  Victorian Subjects. Duke University Press. http://books.google.com/booksidVgMB9-tMSMoC&pgPA85&dqhas+truth+only+if+God+is+truth%E2%80%93it+stands+of+falls+with+faith+in+God&hlen&eieWJ5TezrI4XgrAGzxTfBQ&saX&oibookresult&ctresult&resnum4&ved0CDcQ6AEwAzgK#vonepage&qhas%20truth%20only%20if%20God%20is%20truth%E2%80%93it%20stands%20of%20falls%20with%20faith%20in%20God&ffalse. Retrieved 2011-04-09. "Like other mid-nineteenth-century writers George Eliot was not fully aware of the implications of her humanism and as Nietzsche saw attempted the difficult task of upholding the Christian morality of altruism without faith in the Christian God."  Moore G. E. (1903). Principia Ethica. http://fair-use.org/g-e-moore/principia-ethica/s.13. Retrieved 2011-04-09.  Susan Neiman. (November 6 2006). Beyond Belief Session 6. Conference. Salk Institute La Jolla CA: The Science Network.  Baggini 2003 p. 40 Baggini 2003 p. 43 101 Ethical Dilemmas 2nd edition by Cohen M. Routledge 2007 pp184-5. (Cohen notes particularly that Plato and Aristotle produced arguments in favour of slavery.) Political Philosophy from Plato to Mao by Cohen M Second edition 2008 Harris Sam The end of faith: religion terror and the future of reason W. W. Norton & Company 2005 Harris Sam Letter to a Christian Nation Random House Inc. 2008 Dawkins Richard The God Delusion Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 2008 Hitchens Christopher God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything Random House Inc. 2007 Russell Bertrand Why I am not a Christian and other essays on religion and related subjects Simon and Schuster 1957 Harris Sam (2006a). "The Myth of Secular Moral Chaos". Free Inquiry. http://www.secularhumanism.org/index.phpsectionlibrary&pagesharris263. Retrieved 2011-04-09.  Moreira-almeida A.; Lotufo Neto F.; Koenig H.G. (2006). "Religiousness and mental health: a review". Revista Brasileira de Psiquiatria 28 (3): 242250. doi:10.1590/S1516-44462006005000006. PMID 16924349. http://www.scielo.br/scielo.phppidS1516-44462006000300018&scriptsciarttext. Retrieved 2007-07-12.  See for example: Kahoe R.D. (June 1977). "Intrinsic Religion and Authoritarianism: A Differentiated Relationship". Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 16 (2): 179182. JSTOR 1385749.  Also see: Altemeyer Bob; Hunsberger Bruce (1992). "Authoritarianism Religious Fundamentalism Quest and Prejudice". International Journal for the Psychology of Religion 2 (2): 113133. doi:10.1207/s15327582ijpr02025. http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/contentcontenta785040926dball. Retrieved 2011-04-09.  Harris Sam (2005). "An Atheist Manifesto". Truthdig. http://www.truthdig.com/dig/print/200512anatheistmanifesto. Retrieved 2011-04-09. "In a world riven by ignorance only the atheist refuses to deny the obvious: Religious faith promotes human violence to an astonishing degree."  John S. Feinberg Paul D. Feinberg. Ethics for a Brave New World. Stand To Reason. http://books.google.com/booksidNl-f5SKq9mgC&pgPA697&dqAleksandr+Solzhenitsyn+But+if+I+were+asked+today+to+formulate+as+concisely+as+possible+the+main+cause+of+the+ruinous+revolution+that+swallowed+up+some+60+million+of+our+people+I+could+not+put+it+more+accurately+than+to+repeat:+'Men+have+forgotten+God;+that's+why&hlen&eipoxYTfTSHcTflgfhpOjHBw&saX&oibookresult&ctresult&resnum6&ved0CEMQ6AEwBQ#vonepage&q&ffalse. Retrieved 20071018. "Over a half century ago while I was still a child I recall hearing a number of old people offer the following explanation for the great disasters that had befallen Russia: 'Men have forgotten God; that's why all this has happened.' Since then I have spend well-nigh 50 years working on the history of our revolution; in the process I have read hundreds of books collected hundreds of personal testimonies and have already contributed eight volumes of my own toward the effort of clearing away the rubble left by that upheaval. But if I were asked today to formulate as concisely as possible the main cause of the ruinous revolution that swallowed up some 60 million of our people I could not put it more accurately than to repeat: 'Men have forgotten God; that's why all this has happened.'"  Dinesh D'Souza. "Answering Atheists Arguments". Catholic Education Resource Center. http://catholiceducation.org/articles/apologetics/ap0214.htm. Retrieved 2011-04-09.  References Baggini Julian (2003). Atheism: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-280424-3.  Martin Michael ed (2007). The Cambridge Companion to Atheism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-60367-6. http://books.google.ca/booksidtAeFipOVx4MC&lpgPA8&dqThe%20Cambridge%20Companion%20to%20Atheism&pgPA8#vonepage&q&ftrue. Retrieved 2011-04-09.  Smith George H. (1979). Atheism: The Case Against God. Buffalo New York: Prometheus. ISBN 0-87975-124-X.  Zdybicka Zofia J. (2005). "Atheism". In Maryniarczyk Andrzej. Universal Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 1. Polish Thomas Aquinas Association. http://ptta.pl/pef/haslaen/a/atheism.pdf. Retrieved 2011-04-09  Further reading Berman David (1990). A History of Atheism in Britain: From Hobbes to Russell. London: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-04727-7. http://books.google.ca/booksidLi4OAAAAQAAJ&lpgPP1&dqA%20History%20of%20Atheism%20in%20Britain%3A%20From%20Hobbes%20to%20Russell&pgPP1#vonepage&q&ftrue.  Buckley M. J. (1990). At the Origins of Modern Atheism. New Haven CT: Yale University Press. ISBN 0-300-04897-1.  Dawkins Richard (2006). The God Delusion. Bantam Press. ISBN 0-593-05548-9. http://books.google.ca/booksidyq1xDpicghkC&lpgPP1&dqThe%20God%20Delusion&pgPP1#vonepage&q&ftrue.  Flew Antony (2005). God and Philosophy. Prometheus Books. ISBN 1-59102-330-0.  Tom Flynn ed (2007). The New Encyclopedia of Unbelief. Buffalo NY: Prometheus Books. ISBN 1-59102-391-2.  Gaskin J.C.A. ed (1989). Varieties of Unbelief: From Epicurus to Sartre. New York: Macmillan. ISBN 0-02-340681-X.  Germani Alan (2008-09-15). "The Mystical Ethics of the New Atheists". The Objective Standard (Glen Allen Press) 3 (3). http://www.theobjectivestandard.com/issues/2008-fall/mystical-ethics-new-atheists.asp. Retrieved 2011-04-09.  Harbour Daniel (2003). An Intelligent Person's Guide to Atheism. London: Duckworth. ISBN 0-7156-3229-9.  Harris Sam (2006). Letter to a Christian Nation. Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-26577-7. http://books.google.ca/booksidRlZATs3xD0gC&lpgPP1&dqLetter%20to%20a%20Christian%20Nation&pgPP1#vonepage&q&ftrue.  Harris Sam (October 2 2007). "The Problem with Atheism". The Washington Post. http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/panelists/samharris/2007/10/theproblemwithatheism.html. Retrieved 2011-04-09.  Hitchens Christopher (2007). God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything. Twelve. ISBN 978-0-446-57980-3. http://books.google.ca/booksidsGgoYfGyqSMC&lpgPP1&dqGod%20Is%20Not%20Great%3A%20How%20Religion%20Poisons%20Everything&pgPP1#vonepage&q&ftrue.  Jacoby Susan (2004). Freethinkers: A History of American Secularism. Metropolitan Books. ISBN 978-0-8050-7442-0.  Krueger D. E. (1998). What is Atheism: A Short Introduction. New York: Prometheus. ISBN 1-57392-214-5.  Le Poidevin R. (1996). Arguing for Atheism: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Religion. London: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-09338-4. http://books.google.ca/booksidM4YlYZicMUC&lpgPP1&dqArguing%20for%20Atheism%3A%20An%20Introduction%20to%20the%20Philosophy%20of%20Religion&pgPP1#vonepage&q&ftrue.  Mackie J. L. (1982). The Miracle of Theism: Arguments For and Against the Existence of God. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-824682-X.  Maritain Jacques (1953). The Range of Reason. London: Geoffrey Bles. ISBN B0007DKP00. http://www.nd.edu/Departments/Maritain/etext/range.htm. Retrieved 2011-04-09.  Martin Michael (1990). Atheism: A Philosophical Justification. Philadelphia PA: Temple University Press. ISBN 0-87722-943-0. http://books.google.ca/booksidMNZqCoor4eoC&lpgPP1&dqAtheism%3A%20A%20Philosophical%20Justification&pgPP1#vonepage&q&ftrue. Retrieved 2011-04-09.  Michael Martin & Ricki Monnier ed (2003). The Impossibility of God. Buffalo NY: Prometheus Books. ISBN 1-59102-120-0.  Michael Martin & Ricki Monnier ed (2006). The Improbability of God. Buffalo NY: Prometheus Books. ISBN 1-59102-381-5.  McTaggart John; McTaggart Ellis (1930) 1906. Some Dogmas of Religion (New ed.). London: Edward Arnold & Co.. ISBN 0-548-14955-0.  Nielsen Kai (1985). Philosophy and Atheism. New York: Prometheus. ISBN 0-87975-289-0.  Nielsen Kai (2001). Naturalism and Religion. New York: Prometheus. ISBN 1-57392-853-4.  Onfray Michel (2007). Atheist Manifesto. New York: Arcade Publishing. ISBN 978-1-55970-820-3. http://books.google.ca/booksidQpEAYMo7pFkC&lpgPP1&dqAtheist%20Manifesto&pgPP1#vonepage&q&ftrue. Retrieved 2011-04-09.  Oppy Graham (2006). Arguing about Gods. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-86386-4. http://books.google.ca/booksidDlVtfUxPD14C&lpgPP1&dqArguing%20about%20Gods&pgPP1#vonepage&q&ftrue. Retrieved 2011-04-09.  Robinson Richard (1964). An Atheist's Values. Oxford: Clarendon Press. ISBN 0-19-824191-7. http://www.positiveatheism.org/hist/athval0.htm. Retrieved 2011-04-09.  Russell Paul (October 4 2005). "Hume on Religion". In Edward N. Zalta. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2008 ed.). Metaphysics Research Lab. http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/hume-religion/. Retrieved 2011-04-09.  Sharpe R.A. (1997). The Moral Case Against Religious Belief. London: SCM Press. ISBN 0-334-02680-6.  Stenger Victor J. (2007). God: The Failed Hypothesis. How Science Shows that God Does Not Exist. Amherst NY: Prometheus. ISBN 1-59102-481-1 Thrower James (1971). A Short History of Western Atheism. London: Pemberton. ISBN 0-301-71101-1.  Walters Kerry (2010). Atheism: A Guide for the Perplexed. New York: Continuum. ISBN 978-0-8264-2493-8 External links Find more about Atheism on Wikipedia's sister projects: Definitions from Wiktionary Images and media from Commons Learning resources from Wikiversity News stories from Wikinews Quotations from Wikiquote Source texts from Wikisource Textbooks from Wikibooks Atheism in The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy The New Atheists in The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy Atheism at the Open Directory Project Includes links to organizations and websites. Positive atheism: Great Historical Writings Historical writing sorted by authors. Religion & EthicsAtheism at bbc.co.uk. Secular Web library Library of both historical and modern writings a comprehensive online resource for freely available material on atheism. The Demand for Religion A study on the demographics of Atheism by Wolfgang Jagodzinski (University of Cologne) and Andrew Greeley (University of Chicago and University of Arizona). 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