Godless Citizens in a Godly Republic ― Atheists in American Public Life

From colonial times into the twentieth century, our laws and court casesignored atheism, assuming that all good Americans were religious. Americanscame to associate atheism with radical social philosophies that advocatedviolence—especially anarchism and communism. Avowed nonbelieverswere derided, even the famous patriot Thomas Paine. Only in the twentiethcentury, with the passage of laws allowing for conscientious objection to war,did nonbelief enter debates about religious liberty. Still, today every one of thefifty states has God written into its constitution, with eight requiring a belief inGod for holding public office. God is everywhere in American public life: on ourcurrency, in the Pledge of Allegiance, and in the national motto. R. LaurenceMoore and Isaac Kramnick explore both God’s omnipresence and the dramaticrise in nonbelievers that has led to an “atheist awakening” intent on holding thecountry to its secular principles.