God is not the answer

[Silver]

If they doubt/deny and are open about it they face consequences in most religious societies. It's easier to go along to get along. 

Yea Pascal.

I was involved in one of the strictest denominations: Pentecostal. The pastor himself mentioned it was a healthy part of faith to have doubt. The religious reasoning, I later learned, was merely a psychological trick. Religious indoctrination, after all, is purely psychological. Most people don't like to be told what to believe. Inform them they can't have doubt, you'll end up losing followers. Inform them that they can have doubt, while also informing keeping them abreast of other biblical nonsense, and you hook them. In time, their doubt fades, however, because why should they doubt when it's perfectly okay to doubt? The trick is in recognizing the doubt, but not fully supporting or feeding it, because then they would become atheists instead of devoted religious followers.

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Were there atheists in power that didn't oppress others?

If you have names, you're more than welcome to provide them.