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'''Atheism''' is defined by the ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' as "the negation of theism, the denial of the existence of God."<ref>http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/atheism-agnosticism/</ref> Other definitions exist which simply state something along the lines of a "belief that there is no God or gods."<ref>http://wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=atheism</ref><ref>http://library.thinkquest.org/25416/gloss.htm</ref><ref>http://www.reasoned.org/glossary.htm</ref><ref>http://studentorgs.georgetown.edu/guskeptics/definitions.htm</ref>. Such definitions are perceived by Creation Wiki<ref>http://creationwiki.org/Atheism</ref> as recent "attempts by atheists to redefine the meaning of atheism in order to shift the burden of proof in relation to the question of the existence of God." This itself contradicts the traditional concept of ''burden of proof''<ref>http://www.sjsu.edu/depts/itl/graphics/claims/truth.html#burden</ref> where those making the claim that something is true have to provide evidence<ref>http://john.curtin.edu.au/society/glossary/</ref> for the truthfulness of their claim. Proving the claim that something does not exists can only be disproven by providing supporting evidence<ref>http://john.curtin.edu.au/society/glossary/</ref> for the existence of that which is denied to exist. Proof for the existence of God is ultimately [[faith]] based. <ref>http://www.gotquestions.org/Does-God-exist.html</ref>

'''Atheism''' defined by the ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' and the ''Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' (one of the foremost philosophy reference works) is the denial of the existence of God. <ref>http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/atheism-agnosticism/</ref><ref>http://www.creationontheweb.com/content/view/1998</ref> Recently a number of atheists have attempted to redefine the meaning of atheism as a lack of belief in the existence of God because they wish to shift the burden of proof in regards to the question of the existence of God. <ref>http://home.infostations.net/srm/athart3.htm</ref>

 

   

   

== Atheism and morality ==

Well-known atheists include [[Bertrand Russell]], [[Ayn Rand]], [[Stephen Jay Gould]], [[Richard Dawkins]], [[Douglas Adams]], [[William Borden]] and [[Sam Harris]]. 

Since atheism is not a worldview it carries no obligation to any kind of moral system such as those based on political ideologies or religious texts. Thus atheism is ''amoral'' not ''immoral''. Immorality results from flouting the conventions of one's own morality; amorality is being without morality.<ref>http://www.creationtheory.org/Morality/</ref> Atheists of course do have moral and ethical codes which differ among atheists since atheists can have any system of morality they choose.

== Atheist morality ==

== Origins of atheism==

Atheists typically hold that no religious text can be our only source of morality although all of them may contain useful ideas or principles. As atheists do not believe in any form of deity, books purported to be based upon the wishes of such deities are inherently suspect. Additionally, many atheists assert the Bible contains immoral acts which they claim include the Israelite expulsion of heathen nations from Canaan, the stoning of [http://www.skepticsannotatedbible.com/gay/long.htm homosexuals] to death, poor treatment of women, and the institution of [http://www.skepticsannotatedbible.com/says_about/slavery.html slavery]. [[Christian apologetics|Christian apologetists]] counter assert that these objections to the goodness of God are invalid. <ref>http://www.tektonics.org/lp/outrage.html</ref><ref>http://www.comereason.org/bibl_cntr/con030.asp</ref><ref>http://www.christian-thinktank.com/qnoslave.html</ref><ref>http://www.answersingenesis.org/home/area/feedback/2007/0202.asp</ref> 

It was only from the late 18th century after the demise of the  of  Church's controll and influence over western society that the first openly atheistic thinkers appeared. Following the French Revolution in the 19th century rationalistic and freethinking philosophers under the influenced the rise of atheism to prominence. Many prominent German philosophers of this era denied the existence of deities and were critical of religion, including Ludwig Feuerbach, Arthur Schopenhauer, Karl Marx, and Friedrich Nietzsche.

=== Christian View of Origins ===

During the 20th century atheistic thought found recognition in a wide variety of other, broader philosophies, such as existentialism, Objectivism, secular humanism, nihilism, logical positivism, Marxism, feminism and the general [[science|scientific]] and rationalist movement. Since the collapse of [[communism]] and the reduction in the number of actively antireligious regimes  many God-based and faith-based movements are experiencing increasing confidence and influence vis-à-vis secular movements and ideologies.

It is difficult to trace the origins of atheism as a result of the incomplete historic record. It is known that ancient Greece produced a theory of materialism as early as the 5th century BC.  Materialism is a philosophical position that the material is all that exists. Therefore, it automatically excludes immaterial beings. In addition to materialism the Greeks also considered Spiritualism, in which the material world is an illusion and only spirit exists, as well as dualism, in which both the material and the spiritual exist (e.g. Christianity). It is important to note that while many atheists are strict materialists, some are not. As an example, some philosophical systems generally regarded as religions (i.e. Buddhism) lack deities and thus could be regarded as "atheistic faiths."

Atheism is apparently mentioned in the Bible:

The writer of the Book of Psalms knew of atheists and atheism and registered disapproval in Psalm 14: "The Fool hath said in his heart, There is no God." The book of Psalms precedes the 5th century BC by hundreds of years {{fact}}.

:"The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good" (Psalm 14:1 KJV)

== Atheist Population ==

== Atheist Population ==