Attacking atheists: Doing one's duty to God and country in 21st century America

In the post 9/11 era the United States seems to have experienced a revival in religious sentiment. The religious fervor following 9/11 added to the social ostracism already experienced by atheists. This was consistent with a long history of exclusion but was more public in nature.;This dissertation considers discrimination against atheists in the contexts of two case studies: Boy Scouts of America v. Dale (2000) and Elk Grove Unified School District versus Newdow (2004). In both cases the U.S. Supreme Court ignored past precedent by creating new standards for analyzing equality under the law for nonconformists such as atheists and homosexuals. As a result, the Court created a new hierarchy of protected and unprotected forms of religious belief, and elevated a monotheistic religion over the neutrality standard that had been heralded in prior Supreme Court decisions. In essence, these rulings created a sort of religious establishment for an American Civil Religion.;In the early 21st century, when this nation is experiencing an expanding religious diversity along with an increasing number of seculars, a study of the legal treatment of non-conformists like atheists is an important subject. America's unique legal tradition protects minority religious adherents from majority imposition of values. Both cases discussed in this dissertation raise concerns about the weakening of such safeguards for unpopular minority religionists such as atheists.