There is a consensus on the forums amongst Atheists that Atheism is defined by "lack of belief" which often excludes the possibility of a positive belief that god does not exist and/or that religion is demonstratably false (based on assuming knowledge of god is impossible). Going through the Atheist DIR I was struck by the fact that this consensus is near unanimous to the point where the opposing view isn't represented at all and threads have been made saying "strong atheism doesn't exist" or is a strawman, etc. Rather than engage in debate on this specific point (and end up in a linguistic minefield), I have started this thread to show that such a form of atheism as a positive rejection of the existence of god and the validity of religious belief does exist and that there is historical evidence to support that view.
I have only briefly mentioned Marxist varieties so as not to bias the thread and to demonstrate that more "political" varieties of atheism are not confined to Communist ideology but can be found in other sources. I recognise that I cannot change other people's mind who hold the opposing view but for those who are interested, the information is here if you want to take a look. This is definetely NOT a complete list but includes some of the most easily recognisable and controversial philosophers holding roughly similar views regarding Atheism.
The key distinction between "lack of belief" and "positive belief" is that the atheists listed below would almost uniamously agree that religion is a form of false consciousness, an illusion or an out-right fraud perpetrated by elites to control people- but they may differ on how fervently they deny religious truth. It is common that they are associated with philosophical materialism, though Nietzsche's work is a notable exception as his philosophy is very complex. Since the 19th century most of these sorts of atheists either directly or indirectly draw from Ludwig Feuerbach's philosophy in some way, which is why I have included a link to his work the Essence of Christianity, giving this form of atheism a rather distinctive and recognisable flavour. I appreciate that this is a controversial debate and will no doubt be on-going, but rather than turn this into an argument- I think it is better to simply present evidence for the existence of such a view. whether you accept it or not, is up to you.
Jean Meslier (1664-1729)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Meslier
The French Materialists (18th Century)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_materialism
Marquis De Sade(1740-1815)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marquis_De_Sade
"The Cult of Reason" in the French Revolution (1792-1794)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cult_of_reason
Ludwig Feuerbach (1804-1872)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwig_Feuerbach
The Essence of Christianity [Significant Work]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Essence_Of_Christianity
Full Text: https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/feuerbach/works/essence/index.htm
Max Stirner (1806-1856)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Stirner
Karl Marx (1818-1883)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Marx
Fredrich Nietzsche (1844-1900)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neitzsche
Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigmund_Freud
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freud_and_religion
God-Building (early 20th century Marxist movement)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God-Building
[This area is admittedly more "agnostic" than atheist, but represents an attempt to build a "socialist religion" thats draws on both Feuerbach's work and had heavy overtones of Nietzsche's ideas, and so may be of interest to creating a "post-religious" worldview.]
League of Militant Godless (1925-1947)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/League_of_Militant_Atheists
Ayn Rand (1905-1982)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayn_Rand
I have only briefly mentioned Marxist varieties so as not to bias the thread and to demonstrate that more "political" varieties of atheism are not confined to Communist ideology but can be found in other sources. I recognise that I cannot change other people's mind who hold the opposing view but for those who are interested, the information is here if you want to take a look. This is definetely NOT a complete list but includes some of the most easily recognisable and controversial philosophers holding roughly similar views regarding Atheism.
The key distinction between "lack of belief" and "positive belief" is that the atheists listed below would almost uniamously agree that religion is a form of false consciousness, an illusion or an out-right fraud perpetrated by elites to control people- but they may differ on how fervently they deny religious truth. It is common that they are associated with philosophical materialism, though Nietzsche's work is a notable exception as his philosophy is very complex. Since the 19th century most of these sorts of atheists either directly or indirectly draw from Ludwig Feuerbach's philosophy in some way, which is why I have included a link to his work the Essence of Christianity, giving this form of atheism a rather distinctive and recognisable flavour. I appreciate that this is a controversial debate and will no doubt be on-going, but rather than turn this into an argument- I think it is better to simply present evidence for the existence of such a view. whether you accept it or not, is up to you.
Jean Meslier (1664-1729)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Meslier
The French Materialists (18th Century)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_materialism
Marquis De Sade(1740-1815)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marquis_De_Sade
"The Cult of Reason" in the French Revolution (1792-1794)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cult_of_reason
Ludwig Feuerbach (1804-1872)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwig_Feuerbach
The Essence of Christianity [Significant Work]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Essence_Of_Christianity
Full Text: https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/feuerbach/works/essence/index.htm
Max Stirner (1806-1856)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Stirner
Karl Marx (1818-1883)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Marx
Fredrich Nietzsche (1844-1900)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neitzsche
Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigmund_Freud
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freud_and_religion
God-Building (early 20th century Marxist movement)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God-Building
[This area is admittedly more "agnostic" than atheist, but represents an attempt to build a "socialist religion" thats draws on both Feuerbach's work and had heavy overtones of Nietzsche's ideas, and so may be of interest to creating a "post-religious" worldview.]
League of Militant Godless (1925-1947)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/League_of_Militant_Atheists
Ayn Rand (1905-1982)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayn_Rand