The reason I mentioned it was that it seems to me that the most important aspect of the history of atheism in the West is that over the course of about three centuries, it developed from being an accusation, to which nobody would admit, to being the belief system of a major part of the world's population.  But you cannot mention this without also pointing out that this was in large because Communist parties made it the established view in the states they governed.   The association is a historical one, not a logical one, and it is true that there are critics of atheism who try to discredit atheism as a philosophy because of its historical association with Communism (a point mentioned in the article), but the NPOV response to this is NOT just to neglect to mention this important historical association.  12:28, 2 Jan 2005 (UTC)