Yet persons whom succeeding generations revered as prophets were considered atheists by their contemporaries. They were persecuted too. Socrates, Jesus, Mohammad, Marx and Gandhi were notable examples of this kind. Obviously atheism is a progressive tendency of civilization.
Conservative forces are averse to it.
They calumniate and harass atheism. Atheism is the opposite of theism. The popular meaning of theism is faith in existence of a god. Though the concepts of god are many and varied, the quality common to all of them is to regard god as superior to man. Also there are faiths, like Hinduism, which do not postulate a god.