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No Gods, No Masters

Georges M. Halpern, MD, DSc with Yves P. Huin

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Asanatheist,Iknewthatwasit.Icouldtakenocomfortinbeliefinanafterlife,orthenotionthatlifeonearthisjustajourneytowardssomespiritualpayoffinanotherdimension. I’mconvinced thatwhatwedohereandnow isall thatweget.Everysecond,minute,hour,anddayissacred. Fromayoungage,IknewIwasanatheist.Havingseennoscientificevidenceofahighercelestialbeingtochangemymind,Ihaveremainedanatheisttothisday.Let’sbehonest:Beinganatheistcansometimesbeexhausting.It’snotsomuchdefendingmy stance against thosewhopractice a faith. It’s the pressure and exhaustion oftrying to achieve everything you can before you shuffle off this mortal coil. Butatheismhas infusedmy lifewith themantra that everymoment counts, so don’twasteit.Thatattitudehasopeneddoors,andthehappiestmomentsofmylifewouldlikelyneverhavematerializedifIdidn’thavesuchacarpediemattitude.Lifeasanatheistisaboutthehereandnow.Insteadofansweringtoahigherbeing,it’sabouthowyouchoosetomakeanimpactonthosearoundyou.Ifindsleepingawasteoftime;fortunately,Iinheritedfrommyfathertheshortsleep/earlyrisergene.

Iamthephysicalmanifestationofburningthecandleatbothends,althoughIliketothinkthatwhentheflamesmeetthemiddleandextinguish,I’llbesooldthatIamlikelytodieanymomentanyway(Iamreachingthatpoint!).

Ofcourse,“livefast,dieyoung”isacommontraptofallinto.Ifyou’renotcareful,youcanbetooimpulsive,toohedonistic,andbeconsumedbya“grassisalwaysgreenerontheotherside”mentality.Youcanbeleftdissatisfiedwithyourlife,anddreamsthat always seem out of reach. Without forging the long-term plans that arenecessaryforpracticalliving—ahome,savings—youcanbelefthanging.Butchannelyouratheismintherightwayanditcanbeincrediblyproductiveandfulfilling.

Lifeisallaboutfallingandgettingbackupandlearningfromwhereyouwent.

“I’mstillanAtheist.ThankGod!”-LuisBuñuel

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A Brief History of Atheism Beforehumanscreatedorganizedreligionsinastable(mostlyurban)environment,with hierarchies, rules, exclusions and more, they were facing every minutefrightening, or elatingexperiencesdue to cosmos,weather, seasonal changesandcatastrophes,hungerandthirst,and–aboveall,permanentlylooming-diseaseanddeath.Theytriedtosoothe,please,ally‘nature’byworshipingandmakingofferingsto specific rocks, trees, streams or volcanoes. Andwhen firewasmastered, theyworshipedtheLaresorZaoJun(theKitchenGod),forprotectionandaregularsupplyoffood.InJapaneseShinto,thespiritsarenotseparatefromnature,theyareinit.Theyareinthetrees,intherocks,inthebreeze,thestream,thewaterfall.

Withoutknowing it, just likeMr. Jourdain, inMolière’sLeBourgeoisGentilhomme,ignoredthathewasspeakinginprose,thesehumanswereatheists.

Atheism (derived from the Ancient Greek ἄθεος; atheos meaning "without gods;godless;secular;denyingordisdainingthegods,especiallyofficiallysanctionedgods”)istheabsenceorrejectionofthebeliefthatdeitiesexist.TheEnglishtermwasusedatleastasearlyasthesixteenthcenturyandatheisticideasandtheirinfluencehavealongerhistory.Overthecenturies,atheistshavesupportedtheirlackofbeliefingodsthroughavarietyofavenues,includingscientific,philosophical,andideologicalnotions.

IntheEast,acontemplativelifenotcenteredontheideaofdeitiesbeganinthesixthcenturyBCEwiththeriseofJainism,Buddhism,andcertainsectsofHinduisminIndia,andofDaoisminChina.Thesereligionsclaimtoofferaphilosophicandsalvificpathnotinvolvingdeityworship.Deitiesarenotseenasnecessarytothesalvificgoalof the early Buddhist tradition; their reality is explicitly questioned and oftenrejected. There is a fundamental incompatibility between the notion of gods andbasicBuddhistprinciples-atleastinsomeinterpretations.

Withintheastika("orthodox")schoolsofHinduphilosophy,theSamkhyaandtheearlyMimamsaschooldidnotacceptacreator-deityintheirrespectivesystems.Theprincipal textof theSamkhya school, theSamkhyaKarika,waswrittenby IshvaraKrishna inthe fourthcenturyCE,bywhichtime itwasalreadyadominantHinduschool;theoriginsoftheschoolaremucholderandarelostinlegend.Theschool

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was both dualistic and atheistic. They believed in a dual existence of Prakriti("nature") and Purusha ("spirit") and had no place for an Ishvara ("God") in itssystem,arguingthattheexistenceofIshvaracannotbeprovedandhencecannotbeadmittedtoexist.TheschooldominatedHinduphilosophyinitsday,butdeclinedafterthetenthcentury,althoughcommentarieswerestillbeingwrittenaslateasthesixteenthcentury.

ThefoundationaltextfortheMimamsaschoolisthePurvaMimamsaSutrasofJaimini(c.thirdtofirstcenturyBCE).Theschoolreacheditsheightc.700CE,andforsometime exerted near-dominant influence on learned Hindu thought. The Mimamsaschoolsawthattheirprimaryenquirywasintothenatureofdharmabasedoncloseinterpretation of the Vedas. Its core tenets were ritualism (orthopraxy) anti-asceticism and anti-mysticism. The early Mimamsakas believed in an adrishta("unseen")thatistheresultofperformingkarmas("works")andsawnoneedforanIshvara("God")intheirsystem.Mimamsapersistsinsomesub-schoolsofHinduismtoday.

Jainsseetheirtraditionaseternal.OrganizedJainismcanbedatedbacktoParshvawholivedintheninthcenturyBCE,and,morereliably,toMahavira,ateacherofthesixthcenturyBCE,andacontemporaryoftheBuddha.Jainismisadualisticreligionwiththeuniversemadeupofmatterandsouls.Theuniverse,andthematterandsoulswithinit,iseternalanduncreated,andthereisnoomnipotentcreatordeityinJainism.Thereare,however,"gods"andotherspiritswhoexistwithintheuniverseand Jains believe that the soul can attain "godhood"; however, none of thesesupernatural beings exercise any sort of creative activity or have the capacity orabilitytointerveneinanswerstoprayers.

The thoroughlymaterialistic and antireligious philosophicalCārvāka school thatoriginatedinIndiawiththeBārhaspatya-sūtras(finalcenturiesBCE)isprobablythemostexplicitlyatheistschoolofphilosophyintheregion(formoreonthatperiod,readmyessayTheArthashastraofChanakya).Theschoolgrewoutofthegenericskepticism in the Mauryan period. Already in the sixth century BCE, AjitaKesakambalin,wasquoted inPali scripturesby theBuddhistswithwhomhewasdebating,teachingthat"withthebreak-upofthebody,thewiseandthefoolishalikeareannihilated,destroyed.Theydonotexistafterdeath."Cārvākanphilosophyisnowknown principally from its Astika and Buddhist opponents. The proper aim of a

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Cārvākan was to live a prosperous, happy, productive life in this world. TheTattvopaplavasimha of Jayarashi Bhatta (c. 8th century) is sometimes cited as asurvivingCārvākatext.Theschoolappearstohavediedoutsometimearoundthefifteenthcentury.

Thenon-adherenceto thenotionofa supremedeityoraprimemover is seenbymanyasakeydistinctionbetweenBuddhismandotherreligions.WhileBuddhisttraditions do not deny the existence of supernatural beings, it does not ascribepowers, in the typicalWestern sense, for creation, salvationor judgement, to the"gods";however,prayingtoenlighteneddeitiesissometimesseenasleadingtosomedegreeofspiritualmerit.

Buddhistsaccepttheexistenceofbeingsinhigherrealms,knownasdevas,butthey,likehumans,aresaidtobesufferinginsamsara-andnotparticularlywiserthanweare!Infact,theBuddhaisoftenportrayedasateacherofthedeities,andsuperiortothem.

In later Mahayana literature, however, the idea of an eternal, all-pervading, all-knowing,immaculate,uncreated,anddeathlessGroundofBeing(thedharmadhatu,inherently linked to thesattvadhatu, the realmofbeings),which is theAwakenedMind (bodhicitta) or dharmakaya ("body of Truth") of the Buddha himself, isattributedtotheBuddhainseveralMahayanasutrasandisfoundinvarioustantrasas well. In some Mahayana texts, such a principle is occasionally presented asmanifesting in a more personalized form as a primordial Buddha, such asSamantabhadra,Vajradhara,Vairochana,Amitabha,andAdi-Buddha,amongothers.

InWesternClassicalAntiquity,theismwasthefundamentalbeliefthatsupportedthelegitimacyofthestate(thepolis).Historically,anypersonwhodidnotbelieveinanydeitysupportedbythestatewasfairgametoaccusationsofatheism,acapitalcrime. For political reasons, Socrates in Athens (399 BCE) was accused of beingatheos("refusingtoacknowledgethegodsrecognizedbythestate")andcondemnedtodeathbydrinkingthehemlock.

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Jacques-Louis David: The Death of Socrates

TherootsofWesternphilosophybeganintheGreekworldinthesixthcenturyBCE.ThefirstHellenicphilosopherswerenotatheists,buttheyattemptedtoexplaintheworldintermsoftheprocessesofnatureinsteadofbymythologicalaccounts.Thus,lightning was the result of "wind breaking out and parting the clouds", andearthquakesoccurredwhen"theearthisconsiderablyalteredbyheatingandcooling".The early philosophers often criticized traditional religious notions. Xenophanes(6th centuryBCE) famously said that if cows andhorseshadhands, "thenhorseswoulddrawtheformsofgodslikehorses,andcowslikecows".Anotherphilosopher,Anaxagoras(5thcenturyBCE),claimedthattheSunwas"afierymass,largerthanthePeloponnese";achargeofimpietywasbroughtagainsthim,andhewasforcedtofleeAthens.

ThefirstfullymaterialisticphilosophywasproducedbytheatomistsLeucippusand

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Democritus (5th century BCE), who attempted to explain the formation anddevelopmentof theworld in termsof thechancemovementsofatomsmoving ininfinitespace.

In the fifth century BCE, the Sophists began to questionmany of the traditionalassumptionsofGreekculture.ProdicusofCeopswassaidtohavebelievedthat"itwasthethingswhichwereserviceabletohumanlifethathadbeenregardedasgods",andProtagorasstatedatthebeginningofabookthat"RegardingthegodsIamunabletosayeitherthattheyexistordonotexist".

InthelatefifthcenturyBCE,theGreeklyricpoetDiagorasofMeloswassentencedtodeathinAthensunderthechargeofbeinga"godlessperson"(ἄθεος)afterhemadefun of the EleusinianMysteries, but he fled the city to escape punishment. LaterwritershavecitedDiagorasasthe"firstatheist",buthewasprobablynotanatheistin the modern sense of the word. Somewhat later (c. 300 BCE), the CyrenaicphilosopherTheodorusofCyrene is supposed tohavedenied that godsexist andwroteabookOntheGodsexpoundinghisviews.

Also,importantinthehistoryofatheismwasEpicurus(c.300BCE).DrawingontheideasoftheAtomists,heespousedamaterialisticphilosophywhereintheuniversewas governed by the laws of chance without the need for divine intervention.Althoughhestatedthatdeitiesexisted,hebelievedthattheywereuninterestedinhumanexistence.TheaimoftheEpicureanswastoattainpeaceofmindbyexposingfearofdivinewrathasirrational.OneofthemosteloquentexpressionsofEpicureanthoughtisLucretius’Dererumnatura(1stcenturyBCE)inwhichheheldthatgodsexistbutarguedthatreligiousfearwasonethechiefcauseofhumanunhappinessand that the gods did not involve themselves in the world. The Epicureans alsodeniedtheexistenceofanafterlifeandhencedismissedthefearofdeath.

Epicureanswerenotpersecuted,but their teachingswerecontroversialandwereharshlyattackedbythemainstreamschoolsofStoicismandNeoplatonism.

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Fast Forward to the Middle Ages InmedievalIslam, Muslimscholarsrecognizedtheideaofatheismandfrequentlyattackedunbelievers.Whenindividualswereaccusedofatheism,theywereusuallyviewed as heretics rather than proponents of atheism. However, outspokenrationalistsandatheistsexisted,onenotablefigurebeingtheninth-centuryscholarIbnal-Rawandi,whocriticized thenotionof religiousprophecy -including thatofMuhammadandmaintainedthatreligiousdogmaswerenotacceptabletoreasonandmustberejected.OthercriticsofreligionintheIslamicworldincludethephysicianandphilosopherAbuBakral-Razia.k.a.Rhazes(865–925),thepoetAl-Ma’arri(973–1057),andthescholarAbuIsaal-Warraq(fl.9thcentury).Al-Ma’arri,forexample,wroteandtaughtthatreligionitselfwasa"fableinventedbytheancients"andthathumanswere"oftwosorts:thosewithbrains,butnoreligion,andthosewithreligion,butnobrains."

IntheEuropeanMiddleAges,noclearexpressionofatheismisknown.ThetitularcharacteroftheIcelandicsagaHrafnkell(late13thcentury)says,"Ithinkitisfollytohave faith ingods".Afterhis templetoFreyr isburntandhe isenslaved,hevowsnever to perform another sacrifice, a position described in the sagas asgoðlauss(godless).

In Christian Europe, peoplewere persecuted for heresy, especially in countrieswheretheInquisitionwasactive.Thechargeofatheismwasusedtoattackpoliticalor religious opponents. Pope Boniface VIII, because he insisted on the politicalsupremacy of the church,was accused by his enemies after his death of holding(unlikely)positionssuchas"neitherbelievingintheimmortalitynorincorruptibilityofthesoul,norinalifetocome".

DuringthetimeoftheRenaissanceandtheReformation,criticismofthereligiousestablishmentbecamemorefrequentinpredominantlyChristiancountries,butdidnotamounttoatheism,perse.

ThetermathéismewascoinedinFranceinthesixteenthcentury.Theword"atheist"appears in English books at least as early as 1566. The concept of atheism re-emergedinitiallyasareactiontotheintellectualandreligiousturmoiloftheAgeofEnlightmentandtheReformation,asachargeusedbythosewhosawthedenialof

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god and godlessness in the controversial positions being put forward by others.During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the word 'atheist' was usedexclusivelyasaninsult;nobodywantedtoberegardedasanatheist.AlthoughoneovertlyatheisticcompendiumknownastheTheophrastusredivivuswaspublishedby an anonymous author in the seventeenth century, atheism was an epithetimplyingalackofmoralrestraint.

TheDutchphilosopherBaruchSpinozacontendedinthe17thcenturythatGoddidnotinterfereintherunningoftheworld,butratherthatnaturallawsexplainedtheworkings of the universe. Hewas "probably the first well known 'semi-atheist' toannouncehimselfinaChristianlandinthemodernera".SpinozahadbeenexpelledfromhissynagogueforhisprotestsoftheteachingsofitsrabbisandforfailingtoattendSaturdayservices.

In1661hepublishedhisKorteVerhandelingvanGog,demenschendeszelvswelstand(ShortTreatiseonGod)buthewasnotapopularfigureforthefirstcenturyfollowinghisdeath:"Anunbelieverwasexpectedtobearebelinalmosteverythingandwickedinallhisways,butherewasavirtuousone.Helivedthegoodlifeandmadehislivinginausefulway...IttookcouragetobeaSpinozaorevenoneofhissupporters.Ifahandfulofscholarsagreedwithhiswritings,theydidnotsosayinpublic"(Blainey).

Baruch Spinoza

Howdangerousitwastobeaccusedofbeinganatheistatthattimeisillustratedby

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theexamplesofÉtienneDolet,whowasstrangledandburnedin1546,andGiulioCesareVanini,who received a similar fate in 1619. In 1689 the Polish noblemanKazimierz Łyszczyńskiwho had denied the existence of God in his philosophicaltreatise De non-existentia Dei, was imprisoned unlawfully; despite the WarsawConfederation tradition and king Sobieski's intercession, Łyszczyński wascondemned to death for atheism and beheaded inWarsaw after his tongue waspulledoutwithaburningironandhishandsslowlyburned.Similarly,in1766,theFrenchnoblemanFrançois-JeandelaBarre,wastortured,beheaded,andhisbodyburned for alleged vandalism of a crucifix -a case that became a cause célèbrebecauseVoltairetriedunsuccessfullytohavethejudgmentreversed.

TheEnglishphilosopherThomasHobbes(1588–1679)wasalsoaccusedofatheism,buthedeniedit.Histheismwasunusual, inthatheheldgodtobematerial.Evenearlier, the British playwright and poet Christopher Marlowe (1563–1593) wasaccusedofatheismwhenatractdenyingthedivinityofChristwasfoundinhishome.Beforehecouldfinishdefendinghimselfagainstthecharge,Marlowewasmurdered.

Inearlymodern times, the firstexplicit atheistknownbynamewas theGerman-language Danish critic of religion Mathias Knutzen (1646–after 1674), whopublishedthreeatheistwritingsin1674.

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The Age of Enlightment For centuries in the West, the idea of a morally good atheist struck people ascontradictory.Moralgoodnesswasunderstoodprimarily intermsofpossessingagood conscience, and good conscience was understood in terms of Christiantheology.BeingagoodpersonmeanthearingandintentionallyfollowingGod’svoice(conscience).SinceanatheistcannotknowinglyrecognizethevoiceofGod,heisdeaftoGod’smoralcommands,fundamentallyandessentiallylawlessandimmoral.Buttoday, it iswidely– ifnot completely–understood that anatheist can indeedbemorallygood.Howdidthisassumptionchange?Andwhohelpedtochangeit?

Pierre Bayle (1647-1706).

OneofthemostimportantfiguresinthishistoryistheHuguenotphilosopherandhistorian,PierreBayle(1647-1706).HisVariousThoughtsontheOccasionofaComet

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(1682),nominallydedicatedtowardstakingdownerroneousandpopularopinionsaboutcomets,wasacontroversialbestseller,andafoundationalworkfortheFrenchEnlightenment.Init,Baylelaunchesabatteryofargumentsforthepossibilityofavirtuousatheist.

Thefollowingtext,byMichaelW.Hickson,assistantprofessorofphilosophyatTrentUniversityinPeterborough,Ontario,waspublishedonSeptember18,2018inAEON.Ithasbeenslightlyeditedforclarityandstylisticharmony.

Hebeginshisapologyonbehalfofatheistswithathen-scandalousobservation:

ItisnostrangerforanatheisttolivevirtuouslythanitisstrangeforaChristiantolivecriminally.Weseethelattersortofmonsterallthetime,sowhyshouldwethinktheformerisimpossible?

Bayleintroduceshisreaderstovirtuousatheistsofpastages:Diagoras,Theodorus,Euhemerus,Nicanor,Hippo andEpicurus.Henotes that themorals of thesemenweresohighly regarded thatChristians laterwere forced todeny that theywereatheiststosustainthesuperstitionthatatheistswerealwaysimmoral.Fromhisownage,BayleintroducestheItalianphilosopherLucilioVanini(1585-1619),whohadhistonguecutoutbeforebeingstrangledandburnedatthestakefordenyingtheexistence of God.Of course, thosewho killedVanini in such a finewaywere notatheists.Thepressingquestion,Baylesuggests,iswhetherreligiousbelievers–andnotatheists–caneverbemoral.

BayleconcedesthatChristianspossesstrueprinciplesaboutthenatureofGodandmorality(we’llneverknowwhetherBaylehimselfwasanatheist).But,inourfallenworld, people do not act based on their principles.Moral action,which concernsoutwardbehaviour andnot inwardbelief, ismotivatedbypassions, not theories.Pride, self-love, thedesire forhonor, thepursuitof agood reputation, the fearofpunishment,andathousandcustomspickedupinone’sfamilyandcountry,arefarmore effective springs of action than any theoretical beliefs about a self-createdbeingcalledGod,ortheFirstCauseargument.Baylewrites:

Thus,weseethatfromthefactthatamanhasnoreligionitdoesnotfollownecessarilythathewillbeledtoeverysortofcrimeortoeverysortofpleasure.Itfollowsonlythathewillbeledtothethingstowhichhistemperamentandhisturnofmindmakehimsensitive.

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Leftalonetoactbasedontheirpassionsandhabitualcustoms,whowillactbetter:anatheistoraChristian?Bayle’sopinionisclearfromthejuxtapositionofchaptersdevotedtothecrimesofChristiansandchaptersdevotedtothevirtuesofatheists.ThecauseoftheworstcrimesofChristiansisrepeatedlyidentifiedasfalsezeal,apassionthatmasqueradesastheloveofGod,butthatamountstopolitico-religiouspartisanshipmixedwithhatredofanyonewhoisdifferent.Bayle’ssurveyofrecentreligiouswars demonstrated in hismind that religious beliefs enflame ourmoreviolenttendencies:

We know the impression made on people’s minds by the idea that they arefightingforthepreservationoftheirtemplesandaltars…howcourageousandboldwebecomewhenwefixateonthehopeofconqueringothersbymeansofGod’sprotection,andwhenweareanimatedbythenaturalaversionwehavefortheenemiesofourbeliefs.

Atheistslackfalsereligiouszeal,sowecanexpectthemtolivequieterlives.

YetBayledoesnot fullyestablish thepossibilityofavirtuousatheist.Thekindofbehaviorthathefocusesonismerelysuperficiallygood.InBayle’stime,tobetrulygoodwastohaveaconscienceandtofollowit.IntheVariousThoughts,hedoesn’tdeclarethatatheistscanhaveagoodconscience.Infact,Bayle’spessimismreachesitspinnacle ina thoughtexperiment involvingavisit fromanalienspecies.Bayleclaimsthatitwouldtakethesealienslessthan15daystoconcludethatpeopledonotconductthemselvesaccordingtothelightsofconscience.Inotherwords,veryfewpeopleintheworldare,properlyspeaking,morallygood.So,atheistsaremerelyno worse than religious believers, and, on the surface, they might even appearmorally superior.While this is less ambitious than claiming that atheists can becompletelyvirtuous,itisstillamilestoneinthehistoryofsecularism.

BayleexpandedonhisVariousThoughtstwiceinhiscareer,oncewithAdditiontotheVariousThoughts on theComet(1694) and againwithContinuation of theVariousThoughtsontheComet(1705).Inthislatterwork,Bayleestablishedthefoundationsof a completely secularmorality according towhich atheists could be asmorallyvirtuousasreligiousbelievers.Hebeginshisdiscussionofatheismwiththestrongestobjectionhecouldmusteragainstthepossibilityofavirtuousatheist:

Because[atheists]donotbelievethataninfinitelyholyIntelligencecommanded

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or prohibited anything, theymust be persuaded that, considered in itself, noactioniseithergoodorbad,andthatwhatwecallmoralgoodnessormoralfaultdependsonlyontheopinionsofmen;fromwhichitfollowsthat,byitsnature,virtueisnotpreferabletovice.

ThechallengeBayleundertakesistoexplainhowatheists,whodonotrecognizeamoral cause of the Universe, can nevertheless recognize any kind of objectivemorality.

Heoffersananalogywithmathematics.AtheistsandChristianswilldisagreeaboutthefoundationofmathematicaltruths.ChristiansbelievethatGodisthesourceofalltruth,whileatheistsdonot.However,metaphysicaldisagreementsoverthesourceof the truth of triangle theorems make no difference when it comes to provingtriangle theorems.Christiansandatheists all conclude that the sumof theanglesinsideeverytriangleisequaltotworightangles.Forthepurposesofmathematics,theologicalviewsare irrelevant.Similarly, formorality:whetheronebelievesthatthenatureofjusticeisgroundedinthenatureofGodorinthenatureofagodlessNaturemakesnodifference.Everyoneagreesthatjusticerequiresthatwekeepourpromisesandreturnitemsthatwehaveborrowed.

Bayle’smost surprising argument is that Christians and atheists agree about thesourceofthetruthsofmorality.TheclearmajorityofChristiansbelievethatGodisthesourceofmoraltruths,andthatmoraltruthisgroundedinGod’snature,notinGod’swillorchoice.Godcannotmakekillinginnocentpeopleamorallygoodaction.Respecting innocent life is a good thing that reflects part of God’s very nature.Furthermore,accordingtoChristians,GoddidnotcreateGod’snature:ithasalwaysbeenandalwayswillbewhatitis.

Atbottom,theseChristianviewsdonotdifferfromwhatatheistsbelieveaboutthefoundationofmorality.Theybelievethatthenaturesofjustice,kindness,generosity,courage,prudenceandsoonaregroundedinthenatureoftheUniverse.Theyarebrute objective facts that everyone recognizes bymeans of conscience. The onlydifference between Christians and atheists is the kind of ‘nature’ inwhichmoraltruthsinhere:Christianssayitisadivinenature,whileatheistssayitisaphysicalnature.Bayleimaginescriticsobjecting:howcanmoraltruthsarisefromamerelyphysicalnature?Thisisindeedagreatmystery–butChristiansarethefirsttodeclarethatGod’snatureisinfinitelymoremysteriousthananyphysicalnature,sotheyare

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innobetterpositiontoclarifythemysteriousoriginsofmorality!

AccordingtotheCanadianphilosopherCharlesTaylor,ouragebecamesecularwhenbelief inGodbecameoneoptionamongmany,andwhen itbecameclear that thetheisticoptionwasnottheeasiestonetoespousewhentheorizingaboutmoralityand politics. “Through his reflections on atheism over three decades, Bayledemonstrated that resting morality on theology was neither necessary noradvantageous.For that reason,Bayledeservesmuchcredit for the secularizationofethics.”

ThefirstbookinmoderntimessolelydedicatedtopromotingatheismwaswrittenbyFrenchCatholicpriestJeanMeslier(1664–1729),whoseposthumouslypublishedlengthy philosophical essay (Mémoire des pensées et sentiments de Jean Meslier,prêtre-curé d'Etrépigny et deBalaives, sur une partie des erreurs et des abus de laconduiteetdugouvernementdeshommes,oùl'onvoitdesdémonstrationsclairesetévidentes de la vanité et de la fausseté de toutes les religions dumonde, pour êtreadresséàsesparoissiensaprèssamortetpourleurservirdetémoignagedevéritéà

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euxetàtousleurssemblables)rejectstheconceptofgod(bothintheChristianandalso in the Deistic sense), the soul, miracles and the discipline of theology.PhilosopherMichelOnfraystates thatMeslier'sworkmarks thebeginningof "thehistoryoftrueatheism".

Bythe1770s,atheisminsomepredominantlyChristiancountrieswasceasingtobeadangerousaccusationthatrequireddenialandwasevolvingintoapositionopenlyavowedbysome.ThefirstopendenialoftheexistenceofGodandavowalofatheismsinceclassicaltimesmaybethatofBarond’Holbach(1723–1789)inhis1770work,TheSystemofNature.D'HolbachwasaParisiansocialfigurewhoconductedafamoussalon widely attended by many intellectual notables of the day, including DenisDiderot,Jean-JacquesRousseau,DavidHume,AdamSmith,andBenjaminFranklin.Nevertheless, his bookwas published under a pseudonym, andwas banned andpublicly burned by the Executioner. Diderot, one of the Enlightenment's mostprominent philosophes and editor-in-chief of the Encyclopédie, which sought tochallengereligious,particularlyCatholic,dogmasaid,"Reasonistotheestimationofthe philosophe what grace is to the Christian", he wrote. "Grace determines theChristian'saction; reason thephilosophe's".Diderotwasbriefly imprisoned forhiswriting,someofwhichwasbannedandburned.

InScotland,DavidHumeproducedasix-volumehistoryofEnglandin1754,whichgavelittleattentiontoGod.HeimpliedthatifGodexisted,hewasimpotentintheface of European upheaval. Hume ridiculedmiracles butwalked a careful line toavoidbeingtoodismissiveofChristianity.WithHume'spresence,Edinburghgainedareputationasa"havenofatheism",alarmingmanyordinaryBritons.

The “culte de la Raison” developed during the “Terreur” period (1792–94) – theradicalstageoftheFrenchRevolution.SeveralParisianchurchesweretransformedintoTemplesofReason,notablytheChurchofSaint-Paul-Saint-LouisintheMarais.The churches were closed in 1793, mostly after 23 November, when the “ParisCommune”orderstheclosingofallchurchesandplacesofworshipinParis.

"AtheismseizedthepedestalinrevolutionaryFranceinthe1790s.Thesecularsymbolsreplaced the cross. In the cathedral of Notre Dame, the altar, the holy place, wasconvertedintoamonumenttoReason..."(Blainey).

TheCultofReasonwasacreedbasedonatheismdevisedbyJacquesHébert,Pierre-

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Gaspard Chaumette, and their supporters. It was stopped by MaximilienRobespierre, a Deist, who instituted the Cult of the Supreme Being. The Cult ofReasonwascelebratedinacarnivalatmosphereofparades,ransackingofchurches,ceremonious iconoclasm, in which religious and royal images were defaced, andceremonieswhichsubstitutedthe"martyrsoftheRevolution"forChristianmartyrs.Theearliestpublicdemonstrationstookplaceenprovince,outsideParis,notablybyHébertistsinLyon,buttookafurtherradicalturnwiththeFêtedelaLiberté("Festivalof Liberty") at Notre-Dame de Paris, 10 November (20 Brumaire) 1793, inceremoniesdevisedandorganizedbyPierre-GaspardChaumette.

Concurrently, the pamphlet Answer to Dr. Priestley’s Letters to a PhilosophicalUnbeliever(1782)isthefirstpublisheddeclarationofatheisminBritain—plausiblythefirstinEnglish(asdistinctfromcovertorcrypticallyatheistworks).

Nineteenth Century TheFrenchRevolutionof1789catapultedatheisticthoughtintopoliticalnotabilityin some Western countries and opened the way for the nineteenth centurymovementsofRationalism,Freethought,andLiberalism.

RomanticpoetPercyByssheShelleywasexpelledfromEngland'sOxfordUniversityin1811forsubmittingtotheDeanananonymouspamphletthathewroteentitledTheNecessityofAtheism.ThispamphletisconsideredbyscholarsasthefirstatheistictractpublishedintheEnglishlanguage.

AnearlyatheisticinfluenceinGermanywasTheEssenceofChristianitybyLudwigFeuerbach(1804–1872).HeinfluencedotherGermannineteenthcenturyatheisticthinkers like Karl Marx, Max Stirner, Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860), andFriedrichNietzsche(1844-1900).

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Karl Marx

In 1844, Karl Marx (1818–1883), an atheistic political economist, wrote in hisContributiontotheCritiqueofHegel'sPhilosophyofRight:"Religioussufferingis,atone and the same time, the expression of real suffering and a protest against realsuffering.Religionisthesighoftheoppressedcreature,theheartofaheartlessworld,andthesoulofsoullessconditions.Itistheopiumofthepeople”.Marxbelievedthatpeopleturntoreligiontodullthepaincausedbytherealityofsocialsituations.Inthesameessay,Marxstates,"mancreatesreligion,religiondoesnotcreateman".

Friedrich Nietzsche

Friedrich,Nietzsche,aprominentnineteenthcenturyphilosopher,iswellknownforcoiningtheaphorism“Gottisttot”(Godisdead),usedasadialogueforthecharactersinhisworks.Hecalledforare-evaluationofoldvaluesandacreationofnewones,

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hoping that in doing so humans would achieve a higher state he labeled theÜbermensch.

Atheism in the twentieth century found recognition in awide variety of other,broaderphilosophiesintheWesterntradition,suchasexistentialism,objectivism,secular humanism, nihilism (feared by Nietzsche!), logical positivism, Marxism,anarchism, feminism, and the general scientific and rationalist movement.ProponentssuchasBertrandRussellemphaticallyrejectedbeliefinGod.

Bertrand Russell (1958)

ThiscenturyalsosawtheestablishmentofstateatheismintheSovietUnionandthecommunistcountriesofEasternEurope,MaoZedong’sChina,NorthKorea,muchofIndochina,andEnverHoxha’sAlbania.Thisdogmaticatheismoftendidnotsurvivetheglobalism,withitsintercommunicationandgrowingappetiteforgoods.

Morerecently,theNewAtheismisadvancedbyagroupofthinkersandwriterswhoadvocatetheviewthatsuperstition,religion,andirrationalismshouldnotsimplybetoleratedbutcountered,criticizedandexposedbyrationalargumentwherevertheirinfluencearisesingovernment,education,andpolitics.Inhisbook,WhyIamnotaChristianpublishedin1927,BertrandRussellputforwardsimilarpositionsasthoseespousedbytheNewAtheists.

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Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Daniel Dennett

On September 30, 2007 four prominent atheists (Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris,ChristopherHitchensandDanielDennett)metatHitchens'residenceinWashington,D.C.,foraprivatetwo-hourunmoderateddiscussion.Theeventwasvideotapedandtitled"TheFourHorsemen".During"TheGodDebate"in2010featuringChristopherHitchens vs. Dinesh D’Souza, the men were collectively referred to as the "FourHorsemenoftheNon-Apocalypse",anallusiontothebiblicalFourHorsemenoftheApocalypsefromtheBookofRevelation.Thefourhavebeendescribeddisparaginglyas"evangelicalatheists".

Newatheismispoliticallyengagedinavarietyofways.Theseincludecampaignstodraw attention to the biased privileged position religion has and to reduce theinfluenceofreligioninthepublicsphere(whichforexampleintheUS,ismandatedintheUSconstitution,undertheterm“separationofchurchandstate”)attemptstopromote cultural change (centering, in the United States, on the mainstreamacceptance of atheism), and efforts to promote the idea of an "atheist identity".Internalstrategicdivisionsovertheseissueshavealsobeennotable,asarequestionsaboutthediversityofthemovementintermsofitsgenderandracialbalance.

Butmany atheists consider these fighters to be atheist fundamentalists, and thisaggressive and militant phase of atheism is doing more damage than good. The

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philosopherMassimo Pigliucciwrites: “What I do object to is the tendency, foundamong many New Atheists, to expand the definition of science to pretty muchencompassinganythingthatdealswith“facts,”looselyconceived...,itseemscleartomethatmostoftheNewAtheists(exceptfortheprofessionalphilosophersamongthem)pontificate about philosophy very likely without having read a single professionalpaperinthatfield....IwouldactuallygosofarastochargemanyoftheleadersoftheNewAtheismmovement(and,byimplication,agoodnumberoftheirfollowers)withanti-intellectualism,onemarkofwhichisalackofrespectforthepropersignificance,value,andmethodsofanotherfieldofintellectualendeavor."

How are Atheists Doing Worldwide? Nottoowell,buttherearesignsforhope.Thoughatheistsareintheminorityinmostcountries, theyarerelativelycommon inEurope,Canada,Australia,NewZealand,EastAsia andpresent communist states. It is difficult todetermine actual atheistnumbers. Furthermore, the conflation of terms such as atheist, agnostic, non-religiousandnon-theistaddtoconfusionamongpolldata.

AccordingtoWIN/GallupInternational, intheir2012pollof57countries,23%ofrespondentswere "not religious" and 13%were "convinced atheists" and in their2014 poll of 65 countries 22% were "not religious" and 11% were "convincedatheists". However, other researchers have advised cautionwith theWIN/GallupInternational figures since other surveys which use the same wording, haveconductedmanywavesfordecades,andhaveabiggersamplesize,suchasWorldValuesSurvey,haveconsistentlyreachedlowerfiguresforthenumberofatheistsworldwide.

A Pew 2015 global projection study for religion and non-religion projects thatbetween 2010 and 2050 there will be some initial increases of the unaffiliatedfollowed by a decline by 2050 due to lower global fertility rates among thisdemographic.

The2015PewReligiousLandscapesurveyreportedthatasof2014,22.8%oftheAmerican population is religiously unaffiliated, atheists made up 3.1% and

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agnosticsmadeup4%oftheUSpopulation.

“Religionhasactuallyconvincedpeoplethatthere'saninvisiblemanlivingintheskywhowatcheseverythingyoudo,everyminuteofeveryday.Andtheinvisiblemanhasaspeciallistoftenthingshedoesnotwantyoutodo.Andifyoudoanyofthesetenthings,hehasa specialplace, full of fireand smokeandburningand tortureandanguish,wherehewillsendyoutoliveandsufferandburnandchokeandscreamandcryforeverandever'tiltheendoftime!...ButHelovesyou!”-GeorgeCarlin,1999

Asurveybasedonaself-selectedsampleofbiologicalandphysicalscientistsoftheNational Academy of Sciencesin theUnited States found that 7%believed in theexistenceofGod,72.2%didnot,and20.8%wereagnosticorhaddoubts.In1916,1,000 leading American scientists were randomly chosen fromAmerican Men ofScienceand 41.8% believed God existed, 41.5% disbelieved, and 16.7% haddoubts/did not know; however, when the study was replicated 80 years laterusingAmericanMen andWomen of Sciencein 1996, resultswere verymuch thesamewith39.3%believingGodexists,45.3%disbelieved,and14.5%haddoubts/didnotknow.

A2014surveybyDavidChalmersandDavidBourgetonnearly1,000professionalphilosophers from 99 leading departments of philosophy shows that 73%consideredthemselvesasatheists,13%consideredthemselvesastheist,and13%assomethingelse.

Butthereareanotherfourcountrieswheretheunaffiliatedmakeupthemajorityofthe population: North Korea/DPRK (71%), Japan (57%) [among famous anti-religiousfigures:PrinceItoHirobumi,HarukiMurakami,FukusawaYukichi],HongKong(56%),andChina(52%).

Henceatheists,intheUSA,arethe(small,butseeminglygrowing)minority.

Statistically, atheists are held in poor regard across the globe. Non-atheists, andpossibly even fellowatheists, seem to implicitlyviewatheists asprone toexhibitimmoral behaviors ranging from mass murder to not paying at a restaurant. Inaddition, according to a 2016 Pew Research Center publication, 15% of Frenchpeople,45%ofAmericans,and99%ofIndonesiansexplicitlybelievethatapersonmustbelieveinGodtobemoral.Pewfurthermorenotedthat,inaU.S.poll,atheistsandMuslimstiedforthelowestratingamongthemajorreligiousdemographicsona

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"feeling thermometer". Even if on December 16, 2016, President Barack ObamasignedH.R.1150,anamendmenttotheFrankWolfInternationalReligiousFreedomAct,thatincludesprotectionsfor"non-theisticbeliefs,aswellastherightnottoprofessorpracticeanyreligionatall”,theconstitutionsofseven“BibleBelt”U.S.statesbanatheists fromholdingpublicoffice(however, these lawsareunenforceableduetoconflictingwith the firstamendmentandarticleVIof theconstitution):Arkansas,Maryland,Mississippi,NorthCarolina, SouthCarolina, Tennessee, andTexas; andPennsylvaniathataffordsspecialprotectiontotheists.

Discriminationagainstatheistsmayalsorefertoandcomprisethenegativeattitudestowards, prejudice, hostility, hatred, fear, and/or intolerance towards atheistsand/or atheism. Because atheism can be defined in various ways, thosediscriminatedagainstorpersecutedonthegroundsofbeingatheistsmightnothavebeenconsideredatheistsinadifferenttimeorplace.13countriesofficiallypunishatheism or apostasy by death. In some Muslim-majority countries, atheists facepersecutionandseverepenaltiessuchasthewithdrawaloflegalstatusor,inthecaseof apostasy, capital punishment. [To thoseon themap, please addLibya,Algeria.Bangladesh,Indonesia.]

Map of countries with death penalty for atheists

N.B.ALLthesecountriesarefullmembersoftheUnitedNations,and–assuch-havesignedtheUniversalDeclarationofHumanRights….

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Live and Let Live Themajorriskthatatheistsfaceisintolerance.Some‘NewAtheists’havealreadybeenaccusedofextollinganew‘religion’:scientism!Theonlyattitude–thatallhumansshouldhave- is tolerance.Wecannotandshouldnotmakeapartheida rule.Eachhumanisuniqueandmustberespectedandlovedaskin.Whateverthecreed,thefaith,thebeliefs,andifthesearenotimposedonothers,theybelongtothebeholderandmustbeaccepted,respected,protected–even if they feelabhorrent.ThebestillustrationistheLiberalDecaloguefromtheAutobiographyBertrandRussell,vol.3:1944-1969,p.71-72:

“PerhapstheessenceoftheLiberaloutlookcouldbesummedupinanewDecalogue,notintendedtoreplacetheoldonebutonlytosupplementit.TheTenCommandmentsthat,asateacher,Ishouldwishtopromulgate,mightbesetforthasfollows:

1. Donotfeelabsolutelycertainofanything.2. Donotthinkitworthwhiletoproceedbyconcealingevidence,fortheevidenceissuretocometolight.

3. Nevertrytodiscouragethinkingforyouaresuretosucceed.4. Whenyoumeetwithopposition,evenifitshouldbefromyourhusbandoryourchildren,endeavortoovercomeitbyargumentandnotbyauthority,foravictorydependentuponauthorityisunrealandillusory.

5. Havenorespectfortheauthorityofothers,fortherearealwayscontraryauthoritiestobefound.

6. Donotusepowertosuppressopinionsyouthinkpernicious,forifyoudotheopinionswillsuppressyou.

7. Donotfeartobeeccentricinopinion,foreveryopinionnowacceptedwasonceeccentric.

8. Findmorepleasureinintelligentdissentthatinpassiveagreement,for,ifyouvalueintelligenceasyoushould,theformerimpliesadeeperagreementthanthelatter.

9. Bescrupulouslytruthful,evenifthetruthisinconvenient,foritismoreinconvenientwhenyoutrytoconcealit.

10. Donotfeelenviousofthehappinessofthosewholiveinafool'sparadise,foronlyafoolwillthinkthatitishappiness.”

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IfthisDecalogueweretorequiresomespicingup,somevitriol,muchmoreOOMPH!-thenrefertoSamHarris’Manifesto:https://samharris.org/an-atheist-manifesto/.His12-pagearticulate,well-documentedlampooniswhatsomemayneed.

And soon, a PhD in ‘Atheism’ Louis P. Appignani, now an 85-year-old living in Florida,when in college startedreading theworksofBertrandRussell; this justified,asAppignaniputs it, “what Ideepdownbelieve”. Appignanistartedhiscareerasabusinessman,servingasthepresidentandchairmanofthefamousBarbizonInternationalmodelingandactingschool,amongotherendeavors.In2001heturnedhisfocustoatheism,establishingtheAppignaniFoundation,whichsupports“criticalthinking”and“humanisticvalues”andhasgivengrantstoorganizationssuchastheAmericanHumanistAssociationand the Secular Coalition for America. Then, in 2016, Appignani through hisFoundation endowed a chair for the study of atheism and secularism at theUniversityofMiami,aninstitutionhehadlongbeeninvolvedwithasaSouthFloridaresident. His $2.2million gift to the universitymarks the first time in Americanhistorythatafacultypositionhasbeenendowedspecificallyforthestudyofatheism,and he hopes it will “legitimize the word ‘atheism’” in the public sphere. TheuniversityrecentlyannouncedthatAnjanChakravartty,aprofessorofmetaphysicsandphilosophyofscienceattheUniversityofNotreDame,willholdthechair.

IntheColdWarera,Americansassociatedatheismwithcommunism—anddespiteperceptions, particularly in some urban circles, that nonbelief is the norm, theAmericananti-atheistsentimenthasnotyetfullydisappeared.

AsthepollsofAmericans’presidentialpreferencesreveal,atheistsarestill largelydistrustedintheU.S.,althoughlevelsofstigmatizationrangewidelydependingonwheresomeonelivesandwhatkindofcommunitythey’reapartof;scholarshavearguedthatthisdistruststemsfromAmerica’shistoryofassociatingreligionwithmoralityandgoodcitizenship.

Ina2014poll,nearlyhalfofrespondentssaidtheywouldbeunhappyifamemberof their immediate familymarriedanatheist. It’snotsurprising, then, thathighereducationhasalonghistoryofatheistprofessorsbeingpushedoutofuniversities.

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An infamous example is that of Bertrand Russell (coincidentally, the authorwhocatapulted Appignani into atheism), who was banned from teaching at the CityCollegeofNewYorkin1940amidbacklashfromreligiousgroupsandparentswhocondemnedhisviewsonreligion,morality,andsexuality.

Still,italsomakessensethattheendowedchairattheUniversityofMiamiispartofalargerAmericannarrativeinwhichpeople—andyoungpeopleinparticular—aremoving further and further away from religion. About a quarter of Americansidentify as religiously unaffiliated today, compared with 6 percent in 1991.MillennialsarealsothreetimesmorelikelythantheoldestgenerationofAmericanstoidentifyasreligiouslyunaffiliated;today,nearlyfourintenpeopleages18through29describethemselvesassuch,accordingtothePublicReligionResearchInstitute,a rate nearly four times as high as the same age group did in the mid-1980s.Mirroringthistrendhasbeenarise—albeitagradualone—ininterestandsupportfor the academic study of atheism and related topics. Recent examples include aprograminsecularstudiesatPitzerCollege,aswellasthefirstacademicjournalonsecularismandnon-religion,bothlaunchedin2011.

AccordingtoSchmidt,theWashingtonUniversityhistorian,thegrowingnumberofreligiouslydisaffiliatedAmericans“providesabackgroundwhereitisalittlebiteasierforauniversitytoacceptmoneyforachairwiththewordatheisminthetitle.”Suchaninitiative,hesaid,“wouldhavebeenamuchhardersell”50or60yearsago.

YetyoungAmericanswhodon’tassociatewithareligionstillhavecomplexviewsonwhatthatidentitymeans-andpublicinteresttrendshavereflectedthatcomplexity.Forstarters,notallAmericanswhoarereligiouslyunaffiliatedseenoplaceintheirlivesforGodorforritual.APRRIreportin2017foundthatonly14percentofthosewho identify as religiously unaffiliated -researchers tend to call them “nones”becauseoftheboxtheycheckonquestionsaboutreligiousaffiliation-identifiedasatheist.Some“nones”arelargelyindifferenttoquestionsofreligion,andstillothersseearoleforreligionintheirlives;aPewstudyconductedin2014foundthat61percentof“nones”saidtheybelieveinGod,andthataboutathirdofthemsaidthatreligionisatleastsomewhatimportanttothem.

There’sevenfragmentationamongthosewhoexplicitly identifyasatheists:whenthe New Atheism movement began, campus organizations such as the SecularStudentAlliancestartedtogrowinpopularity,saidStephenLeDrew,asociologistof

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secularismandatheism.Afterawhile,though,manyyoungpeopleturnedawaydueto what they perceived as the Islamophobia and misogyny of the New Atheistmovement, amovement that they expectedwould alignwith progressive values.Thesekindsofconcernsarecompoundedbythefactthatself-identifiedatheistsaredisproportionately white, male, and highly educated when compared with thegeneralAmericanpublic.

Indeed, atheists in the United States are –willingly or not- moving the thinkingtowardsAsiaorNorthernEurope.Theeconomistsandpoliticiansshouldtakenote.Andsoon,anewgenerationofgraduatesfromtheUniversityofMiamimaygivethemahardertime.

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Acknowledgements Asyouwilleasilydiscover,thisessay–whileintimatelypersonal-ismostlyacollageandmontageof texts,mostquotedverbatim.Wikipediawasmymainsupplier,asreferenced.Butatheismwassowninmymindveryearlyinlife,possiblyasearlyasage 3. Then, after 1947, I attended the Lycée Henri IV in Paris, where FernandBraudel(history),EmileChartiera.k.a.Alain(philosophy)andmanyfamousthinkerswereteaching.IwasfortunatetohaveRobertDauvergne(history&geography)asamentor in9thand10thgrade,andRenéMaublanc,writer,editorofLaPensée (thereviewonMarxism)asprofessorofPhilosophy;moreimportantly,from6thgrade,Iforged a solid, lasting friendship with Henri Cachin (grandson of Marcel Cachin,president of the French Communist Party), and Pierre Denivelle (whomoved toRome,whilewetoCalifornia)whomImanagedtomeetuntiltheirrespective(early)deaths;togetherwehad,fordecades,endlessconversationsonpolitics,socialissues,atheism, andmuchmore; we incessantly poked each other, and they helpedmealwaysquestionmore.

YvesP.Huin,despiteperturbationsinhisdailylife–andawholehostofproblems-hasbeenincrediblygenerousandsupportive;hemadethiswebsitepostingwhatitis.

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