Sep 5, 2008

Nightfall | Compare and Contrast

1941: Despite Asimov’s anti-religious assertions in ‘‘Nightfall,’’ American culture is steeped in religion, mostly Christian, and atheists are looked upon with suspicion.

Today: Society is secularized with prayer removed from public events and schools.

1941: Despite the probable presence of cults since the beginning of religions, cults are generally rare and secret, so the idea of a cult is a strange one used by Asimov in ‘‘Nightfall’’ to represent the worst effects of religion.

Today: The creation and profusion of cults is a...