Historically, evidence of atheistic viewpoints can be traced back to classical antiquity and early Indian philosophy. In the Western world, atheism declined after Christianity gained prominence. The 16th century and the Age of Enlightenment marked the resurgence of atheistic thought in Europe. Atheism achieved a significant position worldwide in the 20th century. Estimates of those who have an absence of belief in a god range from 500 million to 1.1 billion people. Atheist organizations have defended the autonomy of science, freedom of thought, secularism, and secular ethics.
>>>PUT SHARE BUTTONS HERE<<<
👉 Atheist in the context of Modern paganism
Modern paganism, also known as neopaganism and contemporary paganism, is a range of new religious movements variously influenced by the beliefs of pre-modern peoples across Europe, North Africa, and the Near East. Despite some common similarities, contemporary pagan movements are diverse, sharing no single set of beliefs, practices, or religious texts. Scholars of religion may study the phenomenon as a movement divided into different religions, while others study neopaganism as a decentralized religion with an array of denominations.
Adherents rely on pre-Christian, folkloric, and ethnographic sources to a variety of degrees; many of them follow a spirituality that they accept as entirely modern, while others claim to adhere to prehistoric beliefs, or else, they attempt to revive indigenous religions as accurately as possible. Modern pagan movements are frequently described on a spectrum ranging from reconstructive, which seeks to revive historical pagan religions; to eclectic movements, which blend elements from various religions and philosophies with historical paganism. Polytheism, animism, and pantheism are common features across pagan theology. Modern pagans can also include atheists, upholding virtues and principles associated with paganism while maintaining a secular worldview. Humanistic, naturalistic, or secular pagans may recognize deities as archetypes or useful metaphors for different cycles of life, or reframe magic as a purely psychological practice.
In this Dossier
Atheist in the context of Christianity in the Czech Republic
In the Czech Republic, 47.8% of the population is irreligious (atheist, agnostic or other irreligious life stances), while 21.3% of the population are believers. The religious identity of the country has changed drastically since the first half of the 20th century, when more than 90% of Czechs were Christians. As of 2021, 11.7% of the population identified with Christianity (9.3% identifying with Catholicism and 2.4% with all other Christian denominations); 10.8% identified with other religious identities or beliefs. According to sociologist Jan Spousta, not all the irreligious people are atheists; indeed, since the late 20th century there has been an increasing distancing from both Christian dogmatism and atheism, and at the same time ideas and non-institutional models similar to those of Eastern religions have become widespread through movements started by various gurus, and hermetic and mystical paths.
Atheist in the context of Max Eastman
Max Forrester Eastman (January 4, 1883 – March 25, 1969) was an American writer on literature, philosophy, and society, a poet, and a prominent political activist. Moving to New York City for graduate school, Eastman became involved with radical circles in Greenwich Village. He supported socialism and became a leading patron of the Harlem Renaissance and an activist for a number of liberal and radical causes. For several years, he edited The Masses. With his sister Crystal Eastman, he co-founded in 1917 The Liberator, a radical magazine of politics and the arts.
While residing in the Soviet Union from the fall of 1922 to the summer of 1924, Eastman was influenced by the power struggle between Leon Trotsky and Joseph Stalin and the events leading to Stalin's eventual seizure of power. As a result of the Great Purge and the Soviet Union's totalitarianism, he became highly critical first of Stalinism and then of communism and socialism in general. While remaining an atheist, he became an advocate of free market economics and anti-communism. In 1955, he published Reflections on the Failure of Socialism. He published more frequently in National Review and other conservative journals in later life. He publicly opposed United States involvement in the Vietnam War in the 1960s.
Atheist in the context of Religion in Tibet
The main religion in Tibet has been Buddhism since its introduction in the 8th century CE. As of 2022 the historical region of Tibet (the areas inhabited by ethnic Tibetans) mostly comprises the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) of China and partly the Chinese provinces of Qinghai, Sichuan, Gansu, and Yunnan. Before the arrival of Buddhism, the main religion among Tibetans was an indigenous shamanicand animisticreligion, Bon, which would later influence the formation of Tibetan Buddhism and still attracts the allegiance of a sizeable minority of Tibetans.
According to estimates from the International Religious Freedom Report of 2012, most Tibetans (who comprise 91% of the population of the Tibet Autonomous Region) are associated with Tibetan Buddhism, while a minority of 400,000 people (12.5% of the total population of the TAR) profess the native Bon religion. Other groups in Tibet practise folk religions which share the image of Confucius (Tibetan: Kongtse Trulgyi Gyalpo) with Chinese folk religion, though in a different light. The statistics do not cover the government-sponsored atheistproportion of the Tibetan population. According to some reports, the government of China has been promoting the Bon religion, linking it with Confucianism.