Quote:
Originally Posted by CorsiHockeyLeague
It's true that you can't win a national election in the USA as an atheist, but I'd bet you could win one in Boston or California. Also, it's not like atheism has stopped some of the richest and most powerful people in the USA from gaining the status they have. So it's a pretty mixed bag.
As for overseas, again, in Europe you're pretty much fine. Obviously Australia. Many of the less developed countries may not look kindly on non-believers in whatever the majority faith happens to be, but in those places, there's often a list of things you shouldn't be if you want to be treated anything close to equally (e.g. female).
Atheists are not a particularly oppressed group. That being said,
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Not suggesting it is pervasive across all regions, however the facts are pretty obvious on this side of the pond, "not believing in God is political poison.
There isnt a single "admitted atheist" in USA Congress and only 1 in State legislature. Not believing in God is such a volatile political issue that a simple meeting with people who have ties to atheist groups can expose candidates to pretty brutal smear campaigns.
"Only 54 percent of Americans would vote for a “well-qualified” atheist presidential candidate. While this was the highest total since Gallup began asking the question in 1958, atheism proved the biggest negative influence on a hypothetical candidate’s viability, with fewer respondents saying they would be willing to vote for an atheist than either a gay or a Muslim candidate."
Another study shows atheists are distrusted as much as rapists!
That study was done in BC and Oregon.
Not believing in God could make it harder to get a job, though that would of course require a would-be employer to be aware of a candidate’s nontheistic beliefs. The
study on distrust of atheists cited above also found that issues of faith carry over to hiring decisions. In a survey, researchers found that respondents significantly preferred religious candidates for jobs that were considered high-trust, while they marginally preferred nonbelievers for low-trust jobs, like servers.
SO much more than these things are out there and yet atheists are singled out as whiners? We have to simply bend over and take it up the wahoo because "religion"?