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ATTACKING ATHEISTS: DOING ONE’S DUTY TO GOD AND
COUNTRY IN 21ST CENTURY AMERICA
by
Nina Weiler-Harwell
A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
(POLITICAL SCIENCE)
December 2008
Copyright 2008 Nina Weiler-Harwell
Object Description
| Title | Attacking atheists: doing one's duty to God and country in 21st century America |
| Author | Weiler-Harwell, Nina |
| Author email | nweiler@aarp.org; nweiler@usc.edu |
| Degree | Doctor of Philosophy |
| Document type | Dissertation |
| Degree program | Political Science |
| School | College of Letters, Arts and Sciences |
| Date defended/completed | 2008-06-13 |
| Date submitted | 2008 |
| Restricted until | Unrestricted |
| Date published | 2008-12-05 |
| Advisor (committee chair) | Renteln, Alison Dundes |
| Advisor (committee member) |
Stanford, Craig Wong, Janelle |
| Abstract | 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 non-conformists 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. |
| Keyword | atheists; discrimination; Boy Scouts of America; Newdow; prejudice; religious beliefs; United States |
| Geographic subject (country) | USA |
| Coverage date | 2000/2008 |
| Language | English |
| Part of collection | University of Southern California dissertations and theses |
| Publisher (of the original version) | University of Southern California |
| Place of publication (of the original version) | Los Angeles, California |
| Publisher (of the digital version) | University of Southern California. Libraries |
| Provenance | Electronically uploaded by the author |
| Type | texts |
| Legacy record ID | usctheses-m1877 |
| Rights | Weiler-Harwell, Nina |
| Repository name | Libraries, University of Southern California |
| Repository address | Los Angeles, California |
| Repository email | http://www.usc.edu/isd/libraries/services/ask_a_librarian/email/ |
| Filename | etd-WeilerHarwell-2424 |
| Archival file | uscthesesreloadpub_Volume40/etd-WeilerHarwell-2424.pdf |
Description
| Title | Page 1 |
| Full text | ATTACKING ATHEISTS: DOING ONE’S DUTY TO GOD AND COUNTRY IN 21ST CENTURY AMERICA by Nina Weiler-Harwell A Dissertation Presented to the FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY (POLITICAL SCIENCE) December 2008 Copyright 2008 Nina Weiler-Harwell |
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