In all United States Federal and State courts, the burden of proof starts on the party making an assertion (the "moving party"). Once a specific standard has been met (which varies on numerous conditions), the burden shifts to the "non-moving party." In criminal cases in the United States, the government must prove that the defendant is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, while the defendant need do nothing. In civil cases, the party making an assertion must prove that assertion is more likely true than not. Still, if the moving party fails to meet that burden, the assertion is deemed false. The United States courts unequivocally find that the defending party need not do anything until the moving party meets its burden of proof. Note that in a number of other countries, criminal defendants bear the burden of proving that they are not guilty.
I removed this section, because the States' justice system's method of determining on whom to place the burden of proof is not relevant to the question of which philosophical beliefs possess the burden of proof.
Contradiction
The article states first that weak atheists differ from agnostics, and in the next sentence states tat many weak atheists are agnostics. Contractiction removed.
Babies are atheists? Young children and belief in God. Children predisposed to believe in God
"Dr Barrett claimed anthropologists have found that in some cultures children believe in God even when religious teachings are withheld from them.
“CHILDREN’S NORMALLY AND NATURALLY DEVELOPING MINDS MAKE THEM PRONE TO BELIEVE IN DIVINE CREATION AND INTELLIGENT DESIGN. IN CONTRAST, EVOLUTION IS UNNATURAL FOR HUMAN MINDS;
Other separate research from China suggested that people across different cultures instinctively believed that some part of their mind, soul or spirit lived on after death. According to Professor Roger Trigg, co-director of the project they “have gathered a body of evidence that suggests that religion is a common fact of human nature across different societies.”
“This suggests that attempts to suppress religion are likely to be short-lived as human thought seems to be rooted to religious concepts, such as the existence of supernatural agents or gods, and the possibility of an afterlife or pre-life.”
This means that people are not “born atheists”. Belief in God is not something we learn throughout life or through cultural indoctrination, and it’s not something we adopt out of youthful imagination. It’s something we are born with." - source: Children Are Predisposed To Believe In God, Oxford Study ConcludesConservative (talk) 16:49, 17 January 2017 (EST)