People were persecuted for not towing the church line all the time. They might not all be atheists but only because the phrase had not fully solidified until people started to think about alternatives to creation it was the only game in town.
so you can count galileo and spinoza to the persecuted.
so you can count galileo and spinoza to the persecuted.
You can fix ignorance, you can't fix stupid.
Tinkety Tonk and down with the Nazis.