How bad is it to be Atheist in America?

[PersianLlama]

I am an atheist. Here in Britain nobody cares whether you believe in god or not, and I can not possibly imagine atheism affecting how people see me as a person ever. However their are alot of jokes on american TV shows joking about atheists having a hard time, so basically I want to know if there is any truth behind the jokes.

It all depends on where you live. In my area as a whole (Northern Virginia), there's some atheist hate. I've heard of a few people (Not many though) losing their jobs because they're atheist. However, the school I go to, even though it's a public school, it can be quite religious. Atheists are looked down upon, harassed a bit, but the school administration doesn't discriminate. And most people are fine, but there's probably about 10-20% of the kids who just annoy me for being atheist.

Contrary to popular belief, America was NOT founded as a Christian Nation. The Founding Fathers gave a nice emphasis on "Freedom of or FROM religion."

I know for a fact Benjamin Franklin was a deist, and many of the founding fathers didn't necessarily follow a religion, but if they did they put the state before it. Hence, separation between church and state. Too bad the U.S. government doesn't quite follow that anymore.

 

[Lord Beautiful]

Depends. If you grow up in an unusually religious community, you probably will have a hard time. Likewise Christians, even very normal ones, get a lot of shit when around evangelical atheists.

In the media and politics, it doesn't really make much difference for the average person. The religious people are provoked and exploited by the right, and the atheists are provoked and exploited by the left. Then left and right hold hands and skip all the way to the bank.

EDIT: I should add that this is the very visual exception- as EvilDuck says, it doesn't come up for most people and isn't an issue.

This is a very accurate description. Unless you're hanging around some really, really religious people, you'll have no hard times getting along as an athiest.

 

[DerpyDerpyDerp]

I have had some mixed reactions. The younger generations tend to not care as much (what the cause of that is I am not going to debate) however I have had a lot of trouble with 30+ year olds. Certain families cut me off, teachers insulted me, etc.

We are still the most hated minority in the USA. Some people...

 

[Zephirius]

I'm technically an atheist, but I've absorbed so much American television that I say "I swear to God" about twice per minute. As far as my atheism goes, nobody cares at all. But then, I live in pretty much the most liberal country on the planet.

 

[Glerken]

If you live in Jesusland, very bad. I lived in a highly christian (Although they weren't christlike at all, so I don't know if I should call them that.) city for about two years. I was driving down a street, and saw billboards saying "Hell is real" "Come get saved, or you will go to hell"
It was also the same street that had KKK meetings, not saying anything...

 

[systhicsfg]

Here in Australia, I tend to find people do not advertise themselves as being Christian.

While I believe a fair proportion of the community is religious, people tend to have a go at those who get too militant about their faith... or if they try and press it on other people.

Sometimes at school we just start arguments with the really fanatic kids then just demolish them with logic, but yeah. Religion is not really a big issue in Australia

 

[McMo0^]

having seen said episode of family guy, i just laughed. They've taken the piss out of religion so many times i think just to keep things pc they had to take a shot at atheists.

I live on the east coast in england and atheism isn't an issue here. Sad truth is the vast majority of my friends are atheist and thats mostly because i've cut loose religious friends. No reason other than i get preached towarads about god, and i'm not really bothered. Worst part of it is, most of them are hypocrites (is that spelt right?), being bigger sinners than me. I get why people believe in god, some need people need that faith to get through life. Just because i don't, i should be ok to get on with mine.

Only reasons religion itself is a problem for me is because you get people like freaking bush using religion as a weapon for politics, holy wars, and the corruption that lies within it to gather large funds.

fecks sake i've ranted again. Well time for breakfast

 

[CapnGod]

Well, in a lot of things, you guys are right. Day to day life is pretty much the same. We get to sleep in on Sundays. However, politically, atheists are fairly marginalized. I was listening to a segment on NPR about atheists, and they are the most distrusted minority in America. Most of the country admits in a poll to preferring a Muslim in office over an atheist.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discrimination_against_atheists#Western_countries

Religion hardly qualifies or disqualifies someone from being a politician, unless you're in a baby killing cult or something. But then that becomes a police matter.

In Texas and six other states, apparently it does, as it is written in to their state constitutions. Fortunately the First Amendment supersedes, but my point remains. Further, while it may not be a barrier in the law, it's still a societal barrier. If people won't vote for a politician because he or she is an atheist, that seems to be a disfuckingqualification, now, doesn't it?

 

[CapnGod]

Contrary to popular belief, America was NOT founded as a Christian Nation. The Founding Fathers gave a nice emphasis on "Freedom of or FROM religion."

Treaty of Tripoli, article 11. Awesome.

 

[Dorian Cornelius Jasper]

Contrary to popular belief, America was NOT founded as a Christian Nation. The Founding Fathers gave a nice emphasis on "Freedom of or FROM religion."

True

Thomas Jefferson was also very big against compelling or forcing religion upon anyone. Enlightenment ideals of personal belief played a big part in shaping America, and the modern legal (not necessarily the philosophical) concept of "freedom of belief" as we know it today came in large part from America.

So despite occasionally getting a few hiccups in strongly religious communities, it's not that bad being an atheist in America.

While we're the most puritanical of the developed countries (which leads to some pretty funny instances of hypocrisy, as people like to point out from time to time), we're also very much about "Not giving a damn." A society emphasizing Individuality will do that to ya.

 

[Vortigar]

As long as you don't bring it up there shouldn't be a problem. Which is really the crux of the debate I think. Believe whatever you want but don't be evangelical about it or flaunt it in people's faces.

If you get into a debate about it either you or the one you are talking to made some kind of mistake beforehand.

well i'm an atheist but I live in the Netherlands. And here on1 gives a shit.

Well, there's our Bible belt...

 

[Snor]

As long as you don't bring it up there shouldn't be a problem. Which is really the crux of the debate I think. Believe whatever you want but don't be evangelical about it or flaunt it in people's faces.

If you get into a debate about it either you or the one you are talking to made some kind of mistake beforehand.

well i'm an atheist but I live in the Netherlands. And here on1 gives a shit.

Well, there's our Bible belt...

our bible belt is outnumbered and outgunned...

 

[Kevvers]

Thomas Jefferson was also very big against compelling or forcing religion upon anyone.

I heard he had his own copy of the Bible in which he had removed the Old Testament and the Pauline Epistles and other stuff that he thought was bunk in an attempt to get down to the real philosophy of Jesus. I always thought it was a pity that didn't catch on.

 

[CapnGod]

Religion hardly qualifies or disqualifies someone from being a politician, unless you're in a baby killing cult or something. But then that becomes a police matter.

I can't speak for anyone but myself, but religion can be a legitimate concern in deciding who will lead a community. Religions frequently come packaged with a set of moral values, and it only makes sense for people to want politicians who reflect their values. On the other hand, religion does not have to be the only factor and should be considered one of many.

I do have one concern about Atheists in politics. Many Atheists vocally advocate banning religion completely from public life and institutions. This would be an injustice that our Founding Fathers took active measures to prevent. Of course, not all Atheists prescribe to this, just as not all Christians are strongly pro-Life and not all Republicans advocate responsible immigration policies. But it's an example of how religion can be a factor in politics.

In the political context, its about the issues and values. Religion or the lack-thereof is just a useful if incomplete way to describe those values.

The funny thing is that Christians in America so rarely look at what the bible actually espouses for moral values. If their holy book is the perfect word of god, then everything in it is good, right? Yeah...

The other part is that Socrates did a good job in Plato's Euthyphro dismantling the need for gods in morality. I highly suggest reading it.

 

[epaulet]

It's more frowned upon to be Christian than Atheist it seems around here. Unless you are from one of those gay friendly churches. I live in Berkeley, CA.

 

[Meatkin]

I grew up in a small village in rural Northern England, I went to a tiny Church of England school. I was never brought up as a Christian, but going to that school made me question religion at every step. In fact those who were very religious were secretly ridiculed by the other children!

 

[white_salad]

From where I'm from ( Fremont,CA) you're more looked down upon if you're christian. If word were to slip out you're christian, you are immediately homophobic, racist, and ignorant to others beliefs. Which is really annoying.

 

[Yassen]

The school I went to here in Australia was a christian school, we occasioanly had church but that was just talking about certain moral issues like STD's and trying to convince us the logical reasons why you should save sex until marriage. But, I didn't know many students who actually said they were christian, and if they were they weren't that serious about it.

Here in Australia, it seems you can be any religion you want as long as you don't get so serious about it that you try to convert people everywhere you go, like those damn Jerovah's Witnesses.

All you need is a sense of humour, since you'll probably get poked fun of for being just about anything. That's not to say we're a perfectly tolerable country where you can make a joke about anyone and everyone laughs, but were close, I believe.

 

[Link Kadeshi]

It really depends what part of America you're in. In New York and such places, for example, it's not likely that people will care whether you're religious or not, but in a small town in Louisiana, people definitely will.

Every so often I get some nut job that tries to convert me... I normally just tell them I'm jewish, and they give up quickly. Which is funny, because if anyone called my bluff, I have no clue about Jewish culture.... Thank the Goddesses for stupid people! Some people also like to leave me pamphlets, or little annoying cards... That is really only when I'm at work, and not to often. Mainly around holidays, you know, when God is watching them, so they have to pretend to be good little... Err.... Little something that does stuff? Ok, so I lost track of what I was getting at there... It's not my fault, it's because I was too busy being an evil God hating Atheist.... Who kicks puppies.....