State atheism
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
State atheism is the official rejection of religion in all forms by a government in favor of atheism. The only country to officially ban religion was Albania under Enver Hoxha; however, numerous governments throughout history have actively (and, sometimes, violently) opposed religion, persecuting religious institutions, leaders and believers, to the same extent with Hoxha's Albania.
State atheism should not be confused either with anti-clericalism – the effort to reduce the power of the clergy, especially in politics – or with religious neutrality, in which a government recognizes the legal necessity of the separation of church and state. A state-sponsored religion within a political system implies preferential treatment of one tradition at the expense of others; thus the separation of church and state is one way to protect religious minorities. Finally, state atheism should not be confused with selective persecution of some religious beliefs or their adherents in favor of some other, more dominant religion. State atheism is opposed to all forms of religion.
State atheism implies that the government actively opposes all forms of religion, while secular government can simply involve a government taking a neutral view towards religious matters.
[edit] See also
List of atheists · Demographics · Religion · History · State atheism · Criticism · Discrimination · Persecution · Nontheism · Weak and strong · Agnostic atheism · Implicit and explicit · Antitheism · Arguments
