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[[Image:Stalin-140508 27880t.jpg|right|~~200px~~|thumb|[[Joseph Stalin]], the Premier of the [[Soviet Union]] from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953, founded the [[League of Militant Atheists]], whose chief aim was to propagate militant [[atheism]] and eradicate [[religion]].<ref name=Hesemann-Strieber>{{cite book|author=Michael Hesemann, Whitley Strieber|title=The Fatima Secret|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tx-BEpkJBq8C&pg=PT107&dq=Joseph+Stalin+militant+atheism&hl=en&ei=-DeRTpLrJoPi0QHo88wi&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CDkQ6AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=Joseph%20Stalin%20militant%20atheism&f=false|quote=Lenin's death in 1924 was followed by the rise of Joseph Stalin, "the man of steel," who founded the "Union of Militant Atheists," whose chief aim was to spread atheism and eradicate religion. In the following years it devastated hundreds of churches, destroyed old icons and relics, and persecuted the clergy with unimaginable brutality.|publisher=Random House Digital, Inc.|date=2000|accessdate=9 October 2011}}</ref>]]

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[[Image:Stalin-140508 27880t.jpg|right|201px|thumb|[[Joseph Stalin]], the Premier of the [[Soviet Union]] from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953, founded the [[League of Militant Atheists]], whose chief aim was to propagate militant [[atheism]] and eradicate [[religion]].<ref name=Hesemann-Strieber>{{cite book|author=Michael Hesemann, Whitley Strieber|title=The Fatima Secret|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tx-BEpkJBq8C&pg=PT107&dq=Joseph+Stalin+militant+atheism&hl=en&ei=-DeRTpLrJoPi0QHo88wi&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CDkQ6AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=Joseph%20Stalin%20militant%20atheism&f=false|quote=Lenin's death in 1924 was followed by the rise of Joseph Stalin, "the man of steel," who founded the "Union of Militant Atheists," whose chief aim was to spread atheism and eradicate religion. In the following years it devastated hundreds of churches, destroyed old icons and relics, and persecuted the clergy with unimaginable brutality.|publisher=Random House Digital, Inc.|date=2000|accessdate=9 October 2011}}</ref>]]

The '''secular left''' consists of [[leftist|left]]-wing secularists who are able to exert their influence in many countries. They support "strict government secularism".<ref>http://www.secularleft.us/about</ref>

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''See also:'' [[Atheism and communism]] and [[Atheism and Mass Murder|Atheism and mass murder]]

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[[Image:Khvhkgfiy.jpg|thumbnail|~~left~~|200px|[[Vladimir Lenin]]]]

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[[Image:Khvhkgfiy.jpg|thumbnail|right|200px|[[Vladimir Lenin]]]]

According to the [[University of Cambridge]], historically, the "most notable spread of atheism was achieved through the success of the 1917 Russian Revolution, which brought the [[Marxism-Leninism|Marxist-Leninists]] to power."<ref name="Marxism-Leninsim">{{cite web|url = http://www.investigatingatheism.info/marxism.html|title =Marxism|publisher = [[University of Cambridge]]|quote=The most notable spread of atheism was achieved through the success of the 1917 Russian Revolution, which brought the Marxist-Leninists to power. For the first time in history, atheism thus became the official ideology of a state.|year=2008|accessdate = 2011–03–15}}</ref> Vitalij Lazarʹevič Ginzburg, a Soviet physicist, wrote that the "[[Bolshevik]] communists were not merely atheists but, according to [[Lenin]]'s terminology, [[militant atheist]]s."<ref name="Lenin & militant atheism">{{cite book|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=ufC9Ar8iuDcC&pg=PA161&dq=The+Bolshevik+communists+were+not+merely+atheists+but,+according+to+Lenin%27s+terminology,+militant+atheists.&hl=en&sa=X&ei=1oFUUdj6PIiK0QGvq4CAAw&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=The%20Bolshevik%20communists%20were%20not%20merely%20atheists%20but%2C%20according%20to%20Lenin's%20terminology%2C%20militant%20atheists.&f=false|title =On Superconductivity and Superfluidity: A Scientific Autobiography |author=Vitalij Lazarʹevič Ginzburg|publisher = [[Springer Science+Business Media]]|year=2009|quote=The Bolshevik communists were not merely atheists but, according to Lenin's terminology, militant atheists.|accessdate = 2011–03–15}}</ref> However, prior to this, the [[Reign of Terror]] of the [[French Revolution]] established an [[atheist state]], with the official ideology being the [[Cult of Reason]]; during this time thousands of believers were suppressed and executed by the [[guillotine]].<ref name="Guillotine">{{cite book|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=bf3m7IVAa9gC&pg=PA461&dq=France+atheism+guillotine++Christians+executed&hl=en&sa=X&ei=l4lUUaTRBufG0QGe0IHACA&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=France%20atheism%20guillotine%20%20Christians%20executed&f=false|title =Christianity|author=James Adair|publisher = JBE Online Books|year=2007|quote=Although the Civil Constitution called for religious liberty, which was extended to Jews as well as Christians, many revolutionaries pushed for the establishment of a new state religion, either the Cult of Reason (atheists) or the Cult of the Supreme Being (Deists). Changes toAlthough the Civil Constitution called for religious liberty, which was extended to Jews as well as Christians, many revolutionaries pushed for the establishment of a new state religion, either the Cult of Reason (atheists) or the Cult of the Supreme Being (Deists). Changes to the calendar eliminated references to Christian holidays, and even the ancient seven-day week, and a ist of officially recognized saints included such famous thinkers such as Socrates, Jesus, Marcus Aurelius, and Jean-Jacques Rosseau. A period of political persecution, often with religious overtones, broke out, known as the Reign of Teror. Thousands of people were executed by the guillotine, including many of the original leaders of the French Revolution.|page=461|accessdate = 2011–03–15}}</ref><ref name="France">{{cite book|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=9WkBAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA105&dq=Reign+of+Terror+atheism&hl=en&sa=X&ei=HoRUUcD0NeXX0gGNo4HIDQ&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=Reign%20of%20Terror%20atheism&f=false|title =Memoirs of the reign of George III. to the session of parliament ending A.D. 1793, Volume 5|page=105|author=William Belsham|publisher = G.G. & J. Robinson|year=1801|quote=Reign of this portentous period, it has been eloquently tenor, and energetically observed, " that the reign of atheism in France was avowed the reign of terror. In the full madness of their career, in the highest climax of their horrors, they shut up the temples of God, abolished His worship, and proclaimed death to be an eternal sleep:-in the very centre of Christendom, Revelation underwent a total eclipse, while atheism, performing on a darkened theatre its strange and fearful tragedy, confounded the first elements of society, blended every age, rank, and sex ,indiscriminate proscription and massacre, and convulsed all Europe to its centre, that the imperishable memorial of these events might teach the last generations of mankind to consider religion as the pillar of society, the parent of social order, and the safe-guard of nations." It is wonderful that, amid the horrors of this dismal period, while "the death dance of democratic revolution" was still in rapid movement, among the tears of affliction, and the cries of despair, "the masque, the song, the theatric scene, the buffoon laughter, went on as regularly as in the gay hour of festive peace."|accessdate = 2011–03–15}}</ref><ref name="Reign of Terror">{{cite book|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Tt5rqiCP1p8C&pg=PA57&dq=Reign+of+Terror+atheism&hl=en&sa=X&ei=HoRUUcD0NeXX0gGNo4HIDQ&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=Reign%20of%20Terror%20atheism&f=false|title =Christianity, Islam, and Atheism: The Struggle for the Soul of the West|author=William Kilpatrick|publisher = [[Ignatius Press]]|year=2012|quote=Actually, it's helpful to think in terms of two Enlightenments: the Enlightenment that cut itself off from God. The former led to the American Revolution, the Declaration of Independence, the abolition of slavery, and the civil rights movement. The latter led to the French Revolution, the Reign of Terror, the suppression of church by state, and the godless philosophies of Marx and Nietzsche and their offspring-National Socialism and communism. More recently the abandonment of God has led to the regime of cultural relativism that regards rights as arbitrary constructions. It's this second Enlightenment tradition that Cardinal Ratzinger referred to when he wrote, "The radical detachment of the Enlightenment philosophy from its roots ultimately leads it to dispense with man." Actually this transition happened no "ultimately" but almost immediately. The first instance occurred when Enlightenment worship of abstract "reason" and "liberty" degenearated quickly into the mass murders committed during the antireligious Reign of Terror in France. "Liberty, what crimes are committed in your name", said Madam Rolande as she faced the statue of Liberty in the Place de la Revolution movements before her death at the guillotine. She was one of the early victims of a succession of secular systems based on rootless notions of "liberty", "equality", and "reason". As many historians have pointed out, the atheist regimes of modern times are guilty of far more crimes than any committed in the name of religion. Communist governments alone were guilty of more than one hundred million murders, most of them committed against their own people.|accessdate = 2011–03–15}}</ref>

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=== Influence of the secular left in America ===

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~~[[Vox Day|Theodore Beale]] wrote:~~

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In 2017, the American atheist [[PZ Myers]], quoting fellow [[leftism|leftist]] Alex Nichols, wrote: "...the growing popularity of jibes associating outspoken atheists with fedoras, neckbeards, and virginity, led to an exodus of [[liberal]]s and [[leftism|leftists]] from the “atheist” tent. Those who remained for the most part [[Atheism and social/interpersonal intelligence|lacked in social skills and self-awareness]], and the results were disastrous."<ref>[https://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2017/10/17/poisoning-of-a-movement/ Poisoning of a movement] by PZ Myers</ref>

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{{cquote|The reason the Christian voices are so well-heard is that the Christian community is so large, a much larger "minority" than blacks, Jews or homosexuals. That's why the Left, for all its mantra of "democracy, democracy", fears the Religious Right and needs combat it through the courts instead of the ballot box. The secular Left is so unpopular and so numerically insignificant that it can't even win in the strictly limited democracy of the American political system and so is forced to have its "democracy" at a third remove, by unelected judges.<ref>[http://voxday.blogspot.com/2004/07/empty-doorway-empty-mind.html Vox Day on the secular left in America]</ref>}}

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In 2017, the American atheist [[PZ Myers]], quoting fellow [[leftism|leftist]] Alex Nichols, wrote:

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~~{{Cquote|~~...the growing popularity of jibes associating outspoken atheists with fedoras, neckbeards, and virginity, led to an exodus of [[liberal]]s and [[leftism|leftists]] from the “atheist” tent. Those who remained for the most part [[Atheism and social/interpersonal intelligence|lacked in social skills and self-awareness]], and the results were disastrous.<ref>[https://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2017/10/17/poisoning-of-a-movement/ Poisoning of a movement] by PZ Myers</ref>}}

=== Secular left and mass murder ===

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During and subsequent to the rule of [[Nikita Khrushchev]] (1956–64), there was competition between the pro-[[Joseph Stalin|Stalin]]ists and anti-Stalinists in terms of how Soviet history was portrayed.<ref>Roger D. Markwick, Rewriting history in Soviet Russia : the politics of revisionist historiography, 1956–1974 New York ; Basingstoke : Palgrave, 2001, on legitimate Soviet Historiography particularly in the post 1956 period.</ref>

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== Secular left and socialism ==

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''See also:'' [[Atheism and socialism]]

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The Acton Institute states concerning [[atheism and socialism]]:

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{{Cquote|...a growing body of research reveals that as the welfare state grows, the church shrinks. Adam Kay of Duke University discovered that church and state have a “[https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/ed70/6904ff2959ec495fb0816dcbf2c19b967fdd.pdf hydraulic relationship]”: Events “that lower [[faith]] in one of these external systems (e.g., the government) lead to subsequent increases in faith in the other (e.g., [[God]]).” Another study found that increased welfare spending “in a specific year predicted lower religiosity one to two years later.” It [https://blog.acton.org/archives/101251-gods-power-can-be-outsourced-to-the-government-study.html concluded], “The power and order emanating from God can be outsourced to the government.”...

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...faith in the transcendent gets crowded out by faith in [[socialism]]’s [[utopia]]n promise of equality-of-outcome on earth. This path transformed Michael Harrington from a daily communicant volunteering in the Catholic Worker movement to the [[atheism|atheistic]] founder of the Democratic Socialists of America.<ref>[https://www.eurasiareview.com/21122019-how-socialism-causes-atheism-oped/ How Socialism Causes Atheism – OpEd]</ref>}}

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== Secular left and authoritarianism ==

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See: [[Atheism and authoritarianism|Secular left and authoritarianism]]

== Leading American atheist organizations lean to the left politically ==

According to [[Republican]] Atheists' President Lauren Ell, the leading [[atheist organizations]] such as [[American Atheists]], [[Freedom From Religion Foundation]] and [[Secular Student Alliance]] lean [[leftism|left]] politically.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9JKS-HBqms Atheist and humanist organizations are prioritizing left-leaning political views above all else]</ref>

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== Political weakness of the secular left in the United States ==

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See also: [[Political weakness of the secular left in the United States]]

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John J. DiIulio, Jr., Professor of Politics, Religion, and Civil Society at the University of Pennsylvania, wrote in the Claremont Review of Books about the [[political weakness of the secular left in the United States]]:

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{{Cquote|I would bet against traditional Democratic base voters getting steamrolled by Secularists, and I would bet the house on Americans remaining a predominantly religious people for decades to come. First, as Campbell, Layman, and Green note, “nonbelief in God” remains “a political nonstarter” in both parties. Indeed, the most loyal Democratic base constituency is black Americans, 97% of whom “believe in God or a higher power,” according to a March 2021 Pew report. So do 97% of all religiously affiliated adults and 72% of all religiously unaffiliated adults. Even major tragedies steeped in partisan politics do not shake most Americans’ faith. For example, a Pew report released in January 2021 indicated that, by a 7 to 1 margin, Americans who say their own faith has been strengthened as a result of the coronavirus outbreak (28%) outnumber those who say it has made their faith weaker (4%).

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Second, the authors speculate about the “birth of a Secular Left analogous to the Religious Right,” but they have “reason to think that secularism will remain inchoate and thus politically ineffectual.” Amen, but only if the Democratic Party’s faith-friendly majority pushes back. In 2008, I joined clergy and other leaders, including other “pro-life, pro-family, and pro-poor” Democrats, as a speaker at the 2008 Democratic National Convention’s “Faith Caucus.” The ballroom was so full of people and energy that it scared the hell out of the convention’s anti-religious zealots. Unfortunately, those zealots currently hold sway in the party, and they made sure nothing similar happened again in 2012, 2016, or 2020. They also scrubbed all talk of God from the party’s platforms. But look for 2024 to be a year when the party’s more moderate and religious constituents have their say, show up, and pray out loud.

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Third, America’s religious individuals and institutions are enormously civic-minded in ways that tangibly benefit people of all faiths and none. In a 2001 report titled Better Together, I joined Harvard University’s Robert D. Putnam in documenting how the nation’s churches, synagogues, mosques, and other faith-based organizations “build and sustain more social capital…than any other type of institutions in America,” whether “measured by association memberships, philanthropy, or volunteering.” In stark contrast, as Secular Surge notes, Secularists and their organizations “specialize in politics”—in fact, Secularists do so little by way of “nonpolitical engagement” that the authors are obliged to caution against damning them as “civic deadbeats.”<ref>[https://claremontreviewofbooks.com/from-nuns-to-nones/ ''From Nuns to Nones: Americans will remain a religious people for decades to come.''] by John J. DiIulio, Claremont Review of Books, Fall of 2021</ref>}}

== Secular left vs. secular right ==

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See: [[Western atheism, schisms and political polarization]]

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See: [[Western atheism, schisms and political polarization]] and [[SJW atheists|Social justice warrior atheists]]

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With the [[atheist population]] the [[secular right]] has been growing ~~and this is partly due to the growth of the [[alt-right]] movement~~ (~~see also~~: [[~~Atheism and the alt-~~right]]).

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With the [[atheist population]] the [[secular right]] has been growing (See: [[Secular right]]).

This has contributed to infighting within the [[atheist movement]] (see: [[Western atheism, schisms and political polarization]] and [[Atheist factions]]).

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== Secular leftism is ~~expected to decline~~ in the 21st century ==

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== Secular leftism is declining in the 21st century ==

''See also:'' [[Decline of the secular left]] and [[Decline of leftism]]

As noted above, historically the largest advances of the secular left has been through utilizing the power of the state (see: [[State atheism]] and [[Atheism and communism]]). For example, secular leftists use the power of the state to promote [[evolution]]ary ideology and to censor [[creationism|creationist]]/[[intelligent design]] models of origins (See: [[Suppression of alternatives to evolution]] and [[Atheist indoctrination]]).

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In 2019, John Feffer wrote at the [[leftism|left]] leaning''' ''[[The Nation]]'':

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{{Cquote|In the Americas, the [[Trump]] [[tsunami]] has swept across both continents and the 'pink tide' of [[progressivism]] has all but disappeared from the southern half of the hemisphere...

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In this planet-wide rising tide of [[right-wing populism]], the [[liberal]] left commands only a few disconnected islands — [[Iceland]], [[Mexico]], [[New Zealand]], [[South Korea]], [[Spain]], [[Uruguay]]... Worse, crafty operators with even more ambitious agendas stand ready to destroy the liberal status quo once and for all."<ref>[https://www.thenation.com/article/tom-dispatch-combatting-the-new-right/ Combating the New Right] by John Feffer, ''The Nation'', May 13, 2019</ref>}}

Although the secular left has made some significant recent gains in the [[culture war]] (for example, the legalization of [[same-sex marriage|homosexual marriages]] in many Western nations), the historian Martin Van Crevel points out that sovereign states are losing power/influence due to technology democratizing access to information, welfare states increasingly failing, [[fourth-generation warfare]] being waged against countries and sovereign states increasingly losing their ability to maintain internal order.<ref>[http://strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/pubs/parameters/Articles/96spring/creveld.htm The Fate of the State] by MARTIN VAN CREVELD

*[http://www.albertmohler.com/2015/04/07/this-is-how-religious-liberty-dies-the-new-rules-of-the-secular-left/ https://www.sonshi.com/martin-van-creveld-interview.html Martin van Creveld interview]

*[http://www.albertmohler.com/2015/04/07/this-is-how-religious-liberty-dies-the-new-rules-of-the-secular-left/ The New Rules of the Secular Left] by [[Albert Mohler]], Jr.</ref>

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Professor [[Eric Kaufmann]] says about a graph showing the correlation between the projected growth of the Muslim propulation and the rise of right-wing nationalism in a country:

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{{Cquote|Figure 1 shows an important relationship between projected Muslim population share in 2030 and support for the populist right across 16 countries in Western Europe. Having worked with IIASA World Population Program researchers who generated cohort-component projections of Europe’s Muslim population for Pew in 2011, I am confident their projections are the most accurate and rigorous available. I put this together with election and polling data for the main West European populist right parties using the highest vote share or polling result I could find. Note the striking 78 percent correlation (R2 of .61) between projected Muslim share in 2030, a measure of both the level and rate of change of the Muslim population, and the best national result each country’s populist right has attained."<ref>[https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/2017/03/18/why-the-fear-of-islamization-is-driving-populist-right-support-and-what-to-do-about-it/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Europp+%28EUROPP+-+European+Politics+and+Policy+at+LSE%29 Why the fear of Islamization is driving populist right support – and what to do about it], Eric Kaufmann</ref>}}

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Samuel P. Huntington's thesis on the ''The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order'' keeps getting vindicated.

In the United States, the secular left has lost significant ground in the culture war relating to [[abortion]] and many states are restricting access to abortion.

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*[http://kitmantv.blogspot.com/2011/05/eric-kaufmann-shall-religious-inherit.html Eric Kaufmann: Shall The Religious Inherit The Earth?]

*[http://kitmantv.blogspot.com/search/label/atheist%20demographics Eric Kaufmann's Atheist Demographic series]

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[~~http~~://~~fora~~.~~tv/2010/09/05~~/~~Eric_Kaufmann_Shall_the_Religious_Inherit_the_Earth~~ Eric Kaufmann: Shall the Religious Inherit the Earth?, Australian Broadcasting Corporation]</ref>]]

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[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwmgFZsgSo0 Eric Kaufmann: Shall the Religious Inherit the Earth?, Australian Broadcasting Corporation]</ref>]]

''See also:'' [[Global atheism]]

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In 2010, Kaufmann reported that the rate of secularisation flattened to zero in most of Protestant Europe and France.<ref>[http://www.mercatornet.com/articles/view/shall_the_religious_inherit_the_earth/ Shall the religious inherit the earth]</ref>

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== Secular left and Donald Trump's election ==

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Ironically, the leading communist country in the world, [[Communist Party of China|communist China]], has moved farther away from communism and now has a mixed economy of [[capitalism]] and state owned enterprises.<ref>[China's The Most Viciously Free Market Economy On The Planet Right Now], Forbes, 2015</ref>

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== Atheist deification of politics ==

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See: [[Atheist deification of politics]]

== Atheism, leftism, social justice/progressive values and hypocrisy ==

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Although [[liberal Christianity]] adherents disagree with secular leftists on various matters, they do with work with secular leftists on matters of agreement (see: [[Atheism and liberal Christianity alliances]]).

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== Secular leftists and terrorism ==

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See: [[Naxalite|Secular leftist and terrorism]]

== Secular left, humor and hypocrisy ==

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''See also:'' [[Atheism is a religion]] and [[American atheism]]

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The [[ex-atheist]], [[science fiction]] author [[John C. Wright (author)|John C. Wright]] wrote about American secular leftists:

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The [[Ex-atheists|ex-atheist]], [[science fiction]] author [[John C. Wright (author)|John C. Wright]] wrote about American secular leftists:

{{Cquote|...all the [[Progressivism|Progressives]] do is take their religion, [[Social justice warrior|Social Justice]] [[Marxism]], or whatever name it is going by these days, and PRETEND it is not a religion at all, and they press their [[worldview]] as if it were the default worldview promoted by the [[United States Constitution|Constitution]] and by the consensus of academia, and declare the burden of proof to be on the [[conservative]] to proof otherwise. And when the conservative does prove otherwise, the Progressive decrees from the bench that the proof is inadmissible, on the grounds that no religious arguments can be brought into the public sphere to argue against the Progressive religion. Because it is said to be not a religion, you see...

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