Changes

{{Cquote|The turn of the century ended the [[Golden Age of Freethought|golden age of nineteenth century freethought]] with two events: the death of [[Robert G. Ingersoll|Robert Ingersoll]] in 1899, and the assassination of President [[William McKinley]] in 1901. The lack of a widely popular voice for irreligion, combined with the murder of the president by an anarchist, led to a backlash against not only anarchism but also atheism. From that point, Americans tended to see irreligion in terms of whatever ostensibly foreign ideology seemed most threatening. So for the rest of the century, we see atheism and atheists associated with anarchism, [[fascism]], [[socialism]], and of course [[Soviet Union|Soviet]]-style communism. By the late seventies, [[secular humanism]] became the buzzword for a whole suite of threats not only to religion, but to Americanism. It’s important to note that this phenomenon is not limited to the political or [[religious right]]; [[liberal]]s also framed irreligion as un-American.<ref>[https://atheismsecularismhumanism.wordpress.com/ ISHASH MEMBER INTERVIEW: CHARLES LOUIS RICHTER], International Society for Historians of Atheism, Secularism, and Humanism</ref>}}

{{Cquote|The turn of the century ended the [[Golden Age of Freethought|golden age of nineteenth century freethought]] with two events: the death of [[Robert G. Ingersoll|Robert Ingersoll]] in 1899, and the assassination of President [[William McKinley]] in 1901. The lack of a widely popular voice for irreligion, combined with the murder of the president by an anarchist, led to a backlash against not only anarchism but also atheism. From that point, Americans tended to see irreligion in terms of whatever ostensibly foreign ideology seemed most threatening. So for the rest of the century, we see atheism and atheists associated with anarchism, [[fascism]], [[socialism]], and of course [[Soviet Union|Soviet]]-style communism. By the late seventies, [[secular humanism]] became the buzzword for a whole suite of threats not only to religion, but to Americanism. It’s important to note that this phenomenon is not limited to the political or [[religious right]]; [[liberal]]s also framed irreligion as un-American.<ref>[https://atheismsecularismhumanism.wordpress.com/ ISHASH MEMBER INTERVIEW: CHARLES LOUIS RICHTER], International Society for Historians of Atheism, Secularism, and Humanism</ref>}}

The [[sociology|sociologist]] Phil Zuckerman, who is an atheist, wrote in his ''Psychology Today'' article ''Why Americans Hate Atheists'':

The [[sociology|sociologist]] [[Phil Zuckerman]], who is an atheist, wrote in his ''Psychology Today'' article ''Why Americans Hate Atheists'':

{{Cquote|'''1.''' Americans equate a lack of religiosity in general – or atheism specifically – with immorality.

{{Cquote|'''1.''' Americans equate a lack of religiosity in general – or atheism specifically – with immorality.