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Line 10: − − Virtually no moral philosophy since the Enlightenment has depended on religion. Rather than revelation from the divine, philosophers have tended to find the sources of ethics in passions, reason, utility, or absurdity- all corporeal objects. Both [[David Hume]] and [[Immanuel Kant]], for instance, were philosophically agnostic (Hume tending more toward atheism). They wrote about what they believed was "common morality" and, because they did so without using religion, were clearly of the mind that the ethical principles guiding ''both'' believers and atheists were, in fact, secular. Following them, [[Adam Smith]], [[John Stuart Mill]], and the rest of the [[utilitarians]] argued that morality dealt with the usefulness of one's actions in worldly matters. [[Jean-Paul Sartre]] and the [[Existentialists]], of course, saw morality as a completely human creation. − − Such morality is not necessarily the morality of an atheist, it is merely an ethical system built without God- equally used and useful (if Hume and Kant are correct) to theists and skeptics alike. As such, the misconception that atheists have no moral system is just that.
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== Origins ==
== Origins ==
Atheism has probably been around almost as long as theism, although in recorded history it has been a minority view in the western hemisphere, although amongst literati in pre-modern China, for instance, it was the default position, with moral guidance instead coming from Confucian teachings. Some atheists - notably, [[Richard Dawkins]] - contest that all religious are atheists with regard to Gods of other religions, and that atheism is therefore not a minority, but a default.
Atheism has probably been around almost as long as theism. In recorded history it has been a minority view, although there have been pockets of atheistic thought such as amongst the literati in pre-modern China who followed Confucian teachings.
Well-known atheists include [[Joseph Stalin]], [[Bertrand Russell]], [[Ayn Rand]], [[Richard Dawkins]] and [[Douglas Adams]].
Well-known atheists include [[Joseph Stalin]], [[Bertrand Russell]], [[Ayn Rand]], [[Richard Dawkins]] and [[Douglas Adams]].
Although it is difficult to generalize about atheism because it has no creed in a way that Christianity, Judaism, and Islam do, atheists typically hold that no religious text can be the only source of morality. However, many atheists believe that religious texts contain useful ideas and principles, such as the [[Golden Rule]]. Such people would, however, assert that useful principles entered religion because they are useful, and not the other way around. As atheists do not believe in any form of deity, books purported to be based upon the revealed words of such deities are not considered to have any more inherent moral authority than books written by people, as they consider them to be one and the same.
Although it is difficult to generalize about atheism because it has no creed in a way that Christianity, Judaism, and Islam do, atheists typically hold that no religious text can be the only source of morality. However, many atheists believe that religious texts contain useful ideas and principles, such as the [[Golden Rule]]. Such people would, however, assert that useful principles entered religion because they are useful, and not the other way around. As atheists do not believe in any form of deity, books purported to be based upon the revealed words of such deities are not considered to have any more inherent moral authority than books written by people, as they consider them to be one and the same.
== Atheist Population ==
== Atheist Population ==