Origins
17th Century
Pierre Bayle
- Sometime during the 1650′s, documents were found in France about Atheism, including Theophrastus redivivus and Symbolum Sapientiae, which was found later in the century.
- These documents were either handwritten or printed illegally.
- A few of these documents were and are still argued and had great influence on atheists later.
- In the middle of the 17th century, it was thought impossible to not believe in a god given the fact that evidence for God seemed so clear.
- At the time, atheism was thought to be an illness, since it was thought that no could have this belief reasonably and rationally.
- By the end of the century, Pierre Bayle (1647-1706) raised the possibility of a growing society of atheists.
18th Century
Jean Meslier
- Between 1700 and 1750, thousands of atheistic documents circulated Europe.
- Various French thinkers, including La Mettrie (1709-1751), Rousseau (1712-1778) and Diderot (1713- 1784), have claimed various histories of atheism.
- Beginning with Meslier (1664-1729), many believe atheism had started.
- When Meslier passed away in 1729, he left behind a testament which made many see a clear declaration of atheism.
- What dramatically transformed the relationship between the belief and the non-belief was the French Revolution (1789-1794).
- The impact of the revolution on people to put irreligious ideas into practice extended beyond France into European countries and American colonies.
19th Century
Emmanuel Kant
- France was where all the atheistic thoughts and ideas started in the 18th century and Germany followed in the 19th.
- Many known German atheists include Marx, Schopenhauer and Nietzsche.
- Emmanuel Kant is known to be the figure of central importance to understanding the development and growth of 19th century German atheism.
- According to Kant, we cannot be 100% sure that God exists but must act as though there is for the sake of morality.
20th Century
Karl Marx
- During the 20th century, atheistic beliefs became a mass phenomenon.
- Although some atheists base their thoughts and theories on Karl Marx, not all of them do.
- Although some modern, non-Marxist atheists declined Marx’s influence, some of his key claims are supported.