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If the view that there is no God (or are no gods) is a religion, it is argued its expression is constitutionally protected  in the [[United States]]. <ref>The Supreme Court has said a religion need not be based on a belief in the existence of a supreme being. In the 1961 case of [[Torcaso v. Watkins]], the court described "[[secular humanism]]" as a religion. [http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=45874 Court rules atheism is a religion] </ref> The government cannot force [[atheists]] to recant and adopt the opposite belief.  

If the view that there is no God (or are no gods) is a religion, it is argued its expression is constitutionally protected  in the [[United States]]. <ref>The Supreme Court has said a religion need not be based on a belief in the existence of a supreme being. In the 1961 case of [[Torcaso v. Watkins]], the court described "[[secular humanism]]" as a religion. [http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=45874 Court rules atheism is a religion] </ref> The government cannot force [[atheists]] to recant and adopt the opposite belief.  

If [[atheism]] is not a religion, then the expression of atheistic ideas is still covered by the First Amendment, but only by the [[free speech]] and [[free press]] clauses.  

If atheism is not a religion, then the expression of atheistic ideas is still covered by the First Amendment, but only by the [[free speech]] and [[free press]] clauses.  

The implications go deeper, affecting [[public education]]. If [[atheism]] is a religion, then the [[atheism]] inhering to the [[methodological naturalism]] of [[physical science]] cannot be given excessive government support. That would violate the [[establishment of religion]] clause. So, [[evolution]] education would have to allow students freedom to dissent from the "orthodox" scientific view that human beings evolved from earlier forms of life without any intervention from God.  It should be noted that biology courses only require knowledge of what the theory of evolution, its mechanisms, and the evidence supporting it, rather than belief that evolution occurred.<ref>See [[Kenneth Miller]]'s testimony in ''Selden v. Cobb County', available at [http://ncse.com/files/pub/legal/selman/district_court/20041108_testimony_rogers_mccoy.txt], p. 178</ref>

The implications go deeper, affecting [[public education]]. If [[atheism]] is a religion, then the [[atheism]] inhering to the [[methodological naturalism]] of [[physical science]] cannot be given excessive government support. That would violate the [[establishment of religion]] clause. So, [[evolution]] education would have to allow students freedom to dissent from the "orthodox" scientific view that human beings evolved from earlier forms of life without any intervention from God.  It should be noted that biology courses only require knowledge of what the theory of evolution, its mechanisms, and the evidence supporting it, rather than belief that evolution occurred.<ref>See [[Kenneth Miller]]'s testimony in ''Selden v. Cobb County', available at [http://ncse.com/files/pub/legal/selman/district_court/20041108_testimony_rogers_mccoy.txt], p. 178</ref>