Atheism

=== 20th century ===

[[File:Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Bertrand Russell]].]]
Atheism advanced in many societies in the 20th century. Atheistic thought found recognition in a wide variety of other, broader philosophies, such as [[Marxism and religion|Marxism]], [[logical positivism]], [[existentialism]], [[secular humanism|humanism]] and [[Atheist feminism|feminism]],<ref name=feminism>{{cite book |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tAeFipOVx4MC&q=%22Feminism+and+Atheism%22&pg=PA233 |last=Overall |first=Christine |chapter=Feminism and Atheism |year=2006 |access-date=April 9, 2011 |title=The Cambridge Companion to Atheism |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-139-82739-3}} in {{harvnb|Martin|2006|pp=233–246}}</ref> and the general scientific movement.<ref>{{cite book |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tAeFipOVx4MC&q=%22Feminism+and+Atheism%22&pg=PA233 |last=Overall |first=Christine |chapter=Feminism and Atheism |year=2006 |access-date=April 9, 2011 |title=The Cambridge Companion to Atheism |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-139-82739-3}} in {{harvnb|Martin|2006|p=112}}</ref> 
Proponents of [[naturalism (philosophy)|naturalism]] such as [[Bertrand Russell]] and [[John Dewey]] emphatically rejected belief in God. [[Analytical philosophy|Analytical philosophers]] such as [[John Niemeyer Findlay|J.N. Findlay]] and [[J.J.C. Smart]] argued against the existence of God.<ref name="stanford" /><ref>{{harvnb|Zdybicka|2005|p=16}}</ref>

State atheism emerged in Eastern Europe and Asia, particularly in the Soviet Union under [[Vladimir Lenin]] and [[Joseph Stalin]],<ref>Victoria Smolkin, ''A Sacred Space is Never Empty: A History of Soviet Atheism'' (Princeton UP, 2018) [https://hdiplo.org/to/RT21-56 online reviews] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220424221605/https://issforum.org/roundtables/PDF/Roundtable-XXI-56.pdf |date=April 24, 2022 }}</ref> and in [[China#Chinese Communist Party|Communist China]] under [[Mao Zedong]]. Atheist and anti-religious policies in the Soviet Union included [[Soviet anti-religious legislation|numerous legislative acts]], the outlawing of religious instruction in the schools, and the emergence of the [[League of Militant Atheists]].<ref>[[Richard Pipes]]; ''Russia under the Bolshevik Regime''; The Harvill Press; 1994; pp. 339–340</ref><ref name="Viking p.494">[[Geoffrey Blainey]]; ''[[A Short History of Christianity]]''; Viking; 2011; p. 494</ref> Stalin softened his opposition to Orthodox church in order to improve public acceptance of his regime during the second world war.<ref>{{cite book |editor-last=Smith |editor-first=S.A. |title=The Oxford Handbook of the History of Communism |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2014 |isbn=978-0-19-960205-6 |chapter=Religion Under Communism |last=Madsen |first=Richard |page=588 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZMd7AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA586 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZMd7AgAAQBAJ |access-date=August 13, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151028090400/https://books.google.com/books?id=ZMd7AgAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover |archive-date=October 28, 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 1966, ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine asked "Is God Dead?"<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://content.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,19660408,00.html |title=Is God Dead? |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=April 8, 1966 |at=Cover |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131209112100/http://content.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,19660408,00.html |archive-date=December 9, 2013}}</ref> 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 Christian view of theology.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,835309,00.html |title='Is God Dead?' |magazine=Time |date=April 8, 1966}}</ref>

[[File:Professor Richard Dawkins - March 2005.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|[[Richard Dawkins]]]]
Leaders like [[Periyar E.V. Ramasamy]], a prominent atheist leader of [[India]], fought against [[Hinduism]] and [[Brahmins]] for discriminating and dividing people in the name of [[caste]] and religion.<ref>{{cite book |last=Michael |first=S.M. |year=1999 |chapter=Dalit Visions of a Just Society |editor-last=Michael |editor-first=S. M. |publisher=Lynne Rienner Publishers |title=Untouchable: Dalits in Modern India |isbn=978-1-55587-697-5 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/foreignpolicyact0000gins_t2j6/page/31 31–33] |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/foreignpolicyact0000gins_t2j6/page/31 }}</ref><ref>"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). "[http://iheu.org/content/atheism-south-india-2 Atheism in South India] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131211052228/http://iheu.org/content/atheism-south-india-2 |date=11 December 2013 }}". [[International Humanist and Ethical Union]], ''International Humanist News''. Retrieved November 21, 2013</ref> In the United States, atheist [[Vashti McCollum]] was the plaintiff in a 1948 [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]] case that struck down religious education in US public schools.<ref>{{cite web |last=Martin |first=Douglas |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/26/obituaries/26mccullum.html |title=Vashti McCollum, 93, Plaintiff In a Landmark Religion Suit – Obituary |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=August 26, 2006 |access-date=November 10, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180727150236/https://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/26/obituaries/26mccullum.html |archive-date=July 27, 2018 |url-status=live |ref=none}}</ref> [[Madalyn Murray O'Hair]] was one of the most influential American atheists; she brought forth the 1963 Supreme Court case ''[[Murray v. Curlett]]'' which banned compulsory prayer in public schools.<ref>{{cite book |title=Religion on Trial |last=Jurinski |first=James |year=2004 |publisher=AltraMira Press |location=Walnut Creek, California |isbn=978-0-7591-0601-7 |page=48 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0Yq_z5LaCjsC&pg=PA48 |access-date=July 23, 2009}}</ref> The [[Freedom From Religion Foundation]] was co-founded by Anne Nicol Gaylor and her daughter, [[Annie Laurie Gaylor]], in 1976 in the United States. It promotes the [[separation of church and state]].<ref name="aboutCalling">{{cite news |title=The atheists' calling the Madison-based Freedom From Religion Foundation is taking its latest battle to the U.S. Supreme court. It's a milestone for the often-vilified but financially strong group, which has seen its membership grow to an all-time high |url=http://host.madison.com/news/the-atheists-calling-the-madison-based-freedom-from-religion-foundation/article_85a849c9-f26a-50e8-8a04-cf8bc889d8a0.html |date=February 25, 2010 |last=Erickson |first=Doug |newspaper=[[Wisconsin State Journal]] |access-date=June 30, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170625205513/http://host.madison.com/news/the-atheists-calling-the-madison-based-freedom-from-religion-foundation/article_85a849c9-f26a-50e8-8a04-cf8bc889d8a0.html |archive-date=June 25, 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://host.madison.com/news/the-atheists-calling-the-madison-based-freedom-from-religion-foundation/article_85a849c9-f26a-50e8-8a04-cf8bc889d8a0.html |title=The Atheists' Calling |publisher=[[Wisconsin State Journal]] |first=Doug |last=Erickson |date=February 25, 2007 |access-date=November 21, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170625205513/http://host.madison.com/news/the-atheists-calling-the-madison-based-freedom-from-religion-foundation/article_85a849c9-f26a-50e8-8a04-cf8bc889d8a0.html |archive-date=June 25, 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref>