This statement is irrational. There certainly is persecutioon of atheism and non_Xian religions in the U.S. Just try to be a politician who publicly claims to be an atheist or a minority religion and see how many death threats you get, or try to set up a private secondary school that would teach freethought instead of some Xian denomination.
Let me know the next time our gov't locks you in jail on a charge of "heresy," executes you, and then won't return your dead body to your family until they pay for the cost of your execution.
No, we don't have persecution in the U.S. We do have
abuse, though, and that needs to stop.
But to call that persecution is waters down the meaning of the term greatly. It puts it almost on a par with people who get upset because they are greeted with Happy Holidays instead of Merry Christmas.
(fwiw, I usually smile sweetly and return any such greetings with Happy Kwanzaa, being the smartarse that I am.)
As for the rest of your post, I've encountered abuse at the hands of those who didn't approve of my religion (which I made a point of not bringing up at work). Several members of one particular religious establishment tried to get me fired. It didn't work. I keep good notes.
I was denied promotions because I was not a member of a particular denomination. But I would NOT call that persecution, sorry. Not even close.
As for schools, we have several private free-thinking and other secular schools here in Atlanta, in the Bible Belt no less, and no one has threatened them. I know several Baha'i families who sent their kids to these schools. You want a list?
I was an atheist for years, and I
never had any abuse over it, and I wasn't especially quiet about my atheism either. Or course I don't live in Texas. From what I hear, it's different there. Apparently it's better in the Midwest, but then the culture doesn't approve of wearing your beliefs on your sleeve there anyway, which might make a difference.
As a member of a minority religion I've seen some abuse, though. So I'm a bit cautious. Big freakin' deal. Anyone who is "outside the norm" in any society can expect to have to put up with a little grief over it.
I don't stay up nights waiting for the gov't to come take my husband away and shoot him, I don't worry about walking the streets and being taken as an "adulteress" because my marriage has been declared illegal. I don't worry about my kids being unable to get an education of any sort because of their religion. I don't worry about the place where my coreligionists meet being razed and turn into a road with no due process or compensation. I don't worry about the cemeteries where my ancestors are buried being destroyed for religious reasons.
Let me know the next time atheists, or anyone else in this country, has to endure these sorts of things.
People in other countries do, and that's definitely persecution.
