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The '''history of atheism''', depending on how one defines the term, can be dated to as early as the 6th century BC, or as recently as the late 18th century AD. The word ''atheism'' itself  was not coined until the 16th century.<ref>http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/atheism</ref>  

The '''history of atheism''', depending on how one defines the term, can be dated to as early as the 6th century BC, or as recently as the late 18th century AD. The word ''[[atheism]]'' itself  was not coined until the 16th century.<ref>http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/atheism</ref>  

The earliest possible examples of atheism involve Eastern religions such as [[Jainism]], [[Buddhism]] and [[Taoism]], which do not include a deity. These date back to the 6th century BC, but there is some dispute over whether these religions can be classified as atheistic, in the sense of denying the existence of gods, as many other branches of these religions do incorporate deity worship. In some such religions, the question of the existence of gods is considered to be unimportant rather than a question which can be answered one way or the other. This stance can be better described by the neologism ''apatheism''.

The earliest possible examples of atheism involve Eastern religions such as [[Jainism]], [[Buddhism]] and [[Taoism]], which do not include a deity. These date back to the 6th century BC, but there is some dispute over whether these religions can be classified as atheistic, in the sense of denying the existence of gods, as many other branches of these religions do incorporate deity worship. In some such religions, the question of the existence of gods is considered to be unimportant rather than a question which can be answered one way or the other. This stance can be better described by the neologism ''apatheism''.