Most Americans understand that it's wrong to express bigotry towards Jews or Muslims, even if they can't overcome bigoted feelings towards them. This isn't the case with atheists, though: many Americans continue to think that it is OK to denigrate people merely because they don't believe in gods.

The Miami Herald has a feature from the San Antonio Express-News about atheist families and the challenges they face in American society:

“People will say to you, `You’re an atheist, you must worship Satan,’ “ Melissa says. “They don’t understand that if you don’t believe in God, you don’t believe in the devil, either.’’ Atheists, they lament, are the last minority in this nation that is fair game for bigotry. Experts who study religion concur.

‘‘Atheists are not very well thought of in America,’’ says John Green, a senior fellow with the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. “It’s still acceptable to criticize atheists in a way that’s not polite. People may harbor negative views about Jews, Catholics, Muslims and evangelicals, but they know they’re not supposed to voice those views, so they don’t. But it’s still OK to say anything bad you want about atheists.’’

Green is later quoted misdefining atheism, but otherwise it’s nice that they are pointing this out. I wonder how many theists and religionists even recognize the bigotry they espouse against atheists — or if they even care.

Even better is this:

The public square has become increasingly dominated by religious (specifically, Christian) rhetoric, from the ‘‘values voters’’ of the 2004 presidential election to hot-button cultural issues that carry a religious edge -- abortion, gay rights, stem-cell research, intelligent design, faith-based initiatives, the right to die.

The Christian Right regularly laments the alleged disappearance of religion from the public square and how atheists are trying to eliminate god-talk, but the truth is that religion is more public and vocal today than ever. As the story points out here, the public square is dominated by religious voices, not secular voices. Politicians are expected to demonstrate their religious piety before they demonstrate their competence. Laws are expected to conform to religious values, not necessarily to the public good.

Religion hasn’t disappeared from the public square. Religion isn’t being pushed out of the public square. All that has happened is that there isn’t a single Christian voice that is assumed to be the only valid religious voice in the public square — there is diversity in the Christian voices and the non-Christian voices are accorded equal respect.

This is what the Christian Right doesn’t like and this is what they seek to end. When they push for greater inclusion of religious voices (as if religious voices were not being heard), they only have their own perspective in mind — they aren’t thinking of Buddhists, for example. They are looking to dominate public discourse and using the language of religious rights in order to do it.

Read More:

• Religious Right
• Religious Right News
• Christian Extremism
• Christian Nationalism
• Religious Intolerance & Bigotry
• Separation of Church and State 101
• Church and State News
• Secularism 101