Atheist persecution/discrimination in the US

[dyanaprajna2011]

We've all seen the many threads discussing the topic of are Christians persecuted in the US, which most of us are aware that they are not. However, I haven't seen any threads discussing the topic of atheist persecution in the US. I know that the word persecution sometimes sets people off, so we'll go with the word discrimination.

I won't list the links here, but a quick Google search will reveal that atheists do face much discrimination in the US. I've recently been made aware of much of it, although news stories have offered several pieces of info into this matter.

I'm pretty sure we could come up with a list of things here, showing how much atheists are discriminated against in the US. So, let's post those, and discuss them.

 

[collectivedementia]

It really does not matter what you may(or may not) believe regarding religion, your views will be offensive to someone.

 

[LuisDantas]

Perhaps. But that is not what Dyanaprajna is asking about, CD.

Discrimination goes beyond simply someone thinking of me as holding offensive beliefs.

 

[outhouse]

I have quite a few women who have headed for the hills once they found out I was atheist.

Family and friends are also put off once you mention it.


Doesn't matter if you know more about religion then they do, they just hear the word atheist and they go bonkers.

Common is they ask are you sure your not agnostic?

 

[Revoltingest]

When I was in elementary school, I walked thru 2 feet of snow up hill both ways.
I also went to public schools where Xian prayer was compulsory until sometime in the 60s.
At least that's gone now.

 

[Uberpod]

Common is they ask are you sure your not agnostic?

Many people think atheist = antitheist. Agnostic is like being bisexual. At least part of you might be acceptable.

 

[Alceste]

I have quite a few women who have headed for the hills once they found out I was atheist.

Family and friends are also put off once you mention it.


Doesn't matter if you know more about religion then they do, they just hear the word atheist and they go bonkers.

Common is they ask are you sure your not agnostic?

Yeah, I had one BF who was raised Catholic ask me what I believed in. I have a stock Taoist answer for religious people that, while truthful, can be interpreted in a number of ways, including the Western fallacy that the tao is basically a god concept. I gave him that one and he was hugely relieved - he said "as long as you believe in SOMETHING, that's good. I just don't get how people can go through life not believing in ANYTHING."

Likewise, the child of an old high school friend who has become devoutly Pentecostal once asked me if I was a Christian. Now, I know she's asking because her church is always banging on about how non-Christians are evil and going to hell, and I didn't want her worrying about me, so I gave her my honest opinion of some of the best teachings of Jesus Christ. Love your neighbour, for example. He was full of great ideas like that. She said "Well, Mom says lots of people don't go to church but they're still Christian". I said "Yeah, you can think of me as one of those people". She was also relieved.

To make a long story longer, I guess what I'm trying to say is that IRL I just allow and encourage believers to draw whatever conclusions about me they are already inclined to draw, because I know my opinions would be disturbing to them. I don't know if that makes me "closeted" or just discreet, but the fact of the matter is most people around here are not religious at all, so it hardly ever comes up.

 

[Sunstone]

So far as I know, Focus on the Family, who locally employs about 3,000, openly discriminates against all nontheists in its hiring practices. Last I knew, it even required job applicants to submit written testimony of their faithfulness from their pastors. But then, Focus discriminates against so many groups that it would almost be more discriminatory if it did NOT discriminate against your group. Good Christians those folks. Learned so much from Jesus, they did.

Apart from Focus, Colorado Springs is such a conservative town in general that someone wouldn't want to mention a lack of religious convictions in a job interview here. Not that one normally would, but it if somehow got brought up, you'd stand a fair chance of offending someone.

 

[collectivedementia]

Perhaps. But that is not what Dyanaprajna is asking about, CD.

Discrimination goes beyond simply someone thinking of me as holding offensive beliefs.

And you are quite right. Discrimination is not simply taking offense at someones beliefs, but actively trying to harm them in some way, whether it be physically or mentally. Some people I have met have been rather blunt and obnoxius in thier response to my Christian beliefs, but I truly try to "turn the other cheek"and not return the vitriol I am subjected to. Most are not so cordial in return.I do not personally know anyone who professes atheism,so I have no knowledge of what they may experience as a reult of their beliefs.:help:

 

[Alceste]

This is an interesting post on the subject. Not specific to the US, but still a lot of relevant content.

11 Things Atheists Couldn't Do Because They Didn't Believe In God

 

[Revoltingest]

The Boy Scouts are hypocritical....but in a good way. They've been admitting atheists
(& no doubt other rebrobates) on the sly. Of course, this will vary from place to place.

Note: I never joined. I have a thing against uniforms.

 

[dyanaprajna2011]

I've always lived in highly conservative Christian areas. I was one for a good portion of my life. Once I turned to a more liberal socio-political spectrum, and converted to Buddhism, I kept my beliefs and ideas to myself for quite awhile. Now, I could care less what people think of me, and I'm pretty open about my religion, but not as much so for being liberal. While trying to avoid the question of whether Buddhism is theistic or atheistic (there's plenty of threads in the Buddhist DIR for that), I began to identify as an atheist. Oddly enough, even though I live in a highly conservative Christian area, I'm quite open about being an atheist. Most people around here doesn't like me, I wonder why that is.

 

[Ingledsva]

We've all seen the many threads discussing the topic of are Christians persecuted in the US, which most of us are aware that they are not. However, I haven't seen any threads discussing the topic of atheist persecution in the US. I know that the word persecution sometimes sets people off, so we'll go with the word discrimination.

I won't list the links here, but a quick Google search will reveal that atheists do face much discrimination in the US. I've recently been made aware of much of it, although news stories have offered several pieces of info into this matter.

I'm pretty sure we could come up with a list of things here, showing how much atheists are discriminated against in the US. So, let's post those, and discuss them.

Someone on another thread mentioned that some states still have laws on their books that don't allow Atheists to hold office.


Why hasn't this been brought before the Supreme Court?




*

 

[nazz]

We've all seen the many threads discussing the topic of are Christians persecuted in the US, which most of us are aware that they are not. However, I haven't seen any threads discussing the topic of atheist persecution in the US. I know that the word persecution sometimes sets people off, so we'll go with the word discrimination.

I won't list the links here, but a quick Google search will reveal that atheists do face much discrimination in the US. I've recently been made aware of much of it, although news stories have offered several pieces of info into this matter.

I'm pretty sure we could come up with a list of things here, showing how much atheists are discriminated against in the US. So, let's post those, and discuss them.

It really depends on what part of the country the atheist lives in. In urban areas atheists seem to predominate. At least it seems that way where I live.

 

[LuisDantas]

It really depends on what part of the country the atheist lives in. In urban areas atheists seem to predominate. At least it seems that way where I live.

Really? I never expected the USA to have that wide a variety of communities. One would expect some degree of acceptance of atheism to tickle and spread into the country as a whole if that is so.

 

[nazz]

Really? I never expected the USA to have that wide a variety of communities. One would expect some degree of acceptance of atheism to tickle and spread into the country as a whole if that is so.

Well I have only lived in urban areas all my life and most of my friends are some kind of atheist as have been most of the people I've worked with. Maybe I am just attracted to that? I rarely meet anyone who is religious though many are culturally so. That is they identify with some kind of religion but don't really practice it. I live in a predominantly Catholic enclave at present.

There is a big cultural divide here between city and country. One does not really influence the other.

 

[SkylarHunter]

I would expect that from some uneducated 3rd world country, not from the US. A country with so much evolution in so many levels and people haven't learned basic respect for each others opinions yet?
The way I see it, as long as your believes don't affect your ability to do your job or cause harm to others, you're free to believe whatever you like and you have the right to be open about it.
As a theist I don't have the habit of judging others whether I agree with them or not. Not only I don't have the right to judge another person's views, if I did I would be taking God's place. Judgement belong to Him, not to me.
From a commercial point o view, it seems insane that a company would miss the chance to hire a qualified person for a job, using religious views as a motive. If it's not a position in a church, then what does that have to do with anything?

 

[SkylarHunter]

This is an interesting post on the subject. Not specific to the US, but still a lot of relevant content.

11 Things Atheists Couldn't Do Because They Didn't Believe In God

Crazy stuff. I've lived in 3 countries where people are not allowed to ask you anything about religion in a job interview to avoid discrimination.