[PW] Atheist (im)morality

[Paul Zimmerman]

The common belief among many of the "faithful" that atheists are 
necessarily immoral people is fairly well known. That this is not 
necessarily so is also well known to anyone who thinks. But all 
stereotypes or folk beliefs have an origin. In this case it was probably 
the rebellion against the sanctimonious hyper-morality of the Victorian 
era. I seem to recall but cannot locate a specific example. A prominent 
19th century person, author, scientist, philosopher (one of the 
Utilitarians, perhaps?), I'm not sure, who said specifically "Morality 
is bunk" -- not meaning that he had the right to lie, steal, or whatever 
he pleased, but simply that Pecksniffian decorum was over the top. It 
might have been that he wanted to be able to get a divorce, which was 
definitely an outrageous thing in the 19th century.

Now, this phrase has had a recent revival. I am _not_ looking for the 
modern repeater(s) of this phrase, but the original, which I am fairly 
certain is in the mid-19th century.