Persecution of atheists
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Many atheists have experienced persecution, mainly from Christians and Muslims. Persecution may refer to unwarranted arrest, imprisonment, beating, torture, or execution. It also may refer to the confiscation or destruction of property.
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[edit] Historical persecution
During the late Roman Empire, atheism — a capital crime — was a common legal prosecution against Christians by henotheists. Christians rejected the Roman gods, and henotheists rejected the exclusivity of Christian monotheism.
In the European Middle Ages people were persecuted for heresy, especially in countries where the Inquisition was active. Medieval impiety and godlessness were closer to weak atheism than avowed strong atheism, and hardly any expression of strong atheism is known from this period. Medieval beliefs that most closely approach strong atheism were probably held by some members of the pantheistic Brethren of the Free Spirit. A man called Löffler, who was burned in Bern in 1375 for confessing adherence to this movement, is reported to have taunted his executioners that they would not have enough wood to burn "Chance, which rules the world."
Among those imprisoned for atheism was Denis Diderot (1713–1784), one of the Enlightenment's most prominent philosophes, and editor-in-chief of the Encyclopédie, which sought to challenge religious (particularly Catholic) dogma: "Reason is to the estimation of the philosophe what grace is to the Christian", he wrote. "Grace determines the Christian's action; reason the philosophe's". [1]
[edit] Political restrictions
The freethinker Charles Bradlaugh (1833–1891) was repeatedly elected to the British Parliament, but was not allowed to take his seat after his request to affirm rather than take the religious oath was turned down (he offered to take the oath, but this too was denied him). After Bradlaugh was re-elected for the fourth time, Parliament did relent. In several countries, such as Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom, these laws remain. Likewise, some American states, such as Massachusetts, retain such laws; however, these laws are rarely enforced, if at all.
In the United States, some State Constitutions require a religious test as a qualification for holding public office. For instance The Bill of Rights of the Texas Constitution provides that an official may be "excluded from holding office" if he does not "acknowledge the existence of a Supreme Being." Similarly, North Carolina, South Carolina & Tennessee all have mandatory disqualifications in their State Constitutions from public office for those who deny God. However, these restrictions have not been enforced in recent times, and are likely invalid due to the Federal Constitution.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Denis Diderot, "The Philosophe" (1750s). Retrieved on 2006-08-09.
