Philosophy Timeline. Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Why Atheism Will Replace Religion. Atheists are heavily concentrated in economically developed countries, particularly the social democracies of Europe (Barber, 2012). In underdeveloped countries, there are virtually no atheists . Atheism is thus a peculiarly modern phenomenon. Why do modern conditions produce atheism? First, as to the distribution of atheism in the world, a clear pattern can be discerned. In sub-Saharan Africa there is almost no atheism (Zuckerman, 2007). Belief in God declines in more developed countries and is concentrated in Europe in countries such as Sweden (64% nonbelievers), Denmark (48%), France (44%) and Germany (42%). The question of why economically developed countries turn to atheism has been batted around by anthropologists for about eighty years.
Atheists are more likely to be college-educated people who live in cities and they are highly concentrated in the social democracies of Europe. Even the psychological functions of religion face stiff competition today. References. Philosophy since the Enlightenment, by Roger Jones.