I live in the Bible Belt, so "christians" (although with some I use the term loosely) are by far the majority here. That might make some of the atheists I've known more antagonistic. It would definitely bother me if I was in the minority faith wise, especially with people as adamant as Southern Baptists. Actually, I guess I am sort of in the minority, cause I lean slightly more liberal than the very conservative people I know.

I'm young (26). Universities and so forth tend enrich slightly for atheists, but I've never actually heard of a place that was predominately atheist. Where abouts (generalities) do you live?

It is both aggressive and wrong. But in other places, the opposite situation occurs: I watched an interesting show on PBS recently about laws in France that forbid students from wearing religious symbols (headscarves, crosses, etc). The problem isn't religion or atheism but rather people wanting to control and dominate other people. The Crusades, religious wars, killed millions. So did the atheist Soviet Union under Stalin.

Possible solutions:
- Ron Paul
- awakening Cthulhu
- cleansing fire scouring the surface of Earth
- ?

Have I ever had an Atheist come up to me and try to convince me to become an Atheist? No, not really. So in that sense, I will agree that Christians tend to be a little more "go getter." However, there's a HUGE difference between presenting your beliefs to someone else (which really shouldn't be discouraged), and bludgeoning them with your beliefs (which almost universally should be discouraged). Have I had Atheists attack me or my beliefs once they learned that I was a Christian? Yes I have.

But regardless, I agree precisely with what you say.
Very well put...exactly what I think.
Northwest Pennsylvania

It's gotta be where you live. Atheists are easily a a minority in the US

Damn my long post got deleted - assume it was brilliant. :)

I'll try to reconstruct: Dawkins is actually a pretty good biologist (his work on behavioral evolution is still central to many models today). However, he is very abrasive when it comes to religion. I find him too abrasive. Some atheists feel him necessary to act as the counteragent to the Falwells and Buchanens, but I'd rather it weren't necessary.

Also one should be careful. Sometimes people acquire a reputation in excess of their actual statements. For instance, one of the most moving eulogies I read of Hitchens was written by one of his best friends and intellectual debate partners - a Christian minister. They were apparently great friends who would discuss theology and atheism together with a lot of mutual respect and even did a debate together where everyone in the audience assumed they must be mortal enemies because of Hitchens' known abrasiveness towards religion (and he did say some pretty controversial things - even more than Dawkins). This of course is also true of the firebrands in the other direction. Unfortunately some of the polarization comes from the media which thrives on "exclamation point" stories and just from the people themselves.

The girl seems like a self-entitled priss, but that doesn't mean she's wrong. This is a clear-cut case and the school was insane to try to fight it. The fault here lies entirely with the city and/or the school system. It was just a matter of time before somebody challenged it.

As for the other issue, I'm from Lynchburg, VA, USA, home of the late Jerry Falwell and a hotbed of both insane born-again Baptists, and insane militant atheists. In my experience both sides have been equally annoying and equally pushy not just on a personal level, but on their mutual desire to have total control over our local government. It's a huge mess, and usually nobody involved acts like a good person. There's even a current court case two counties over about the county board praying during the meetings. The case isn't over, but there's little chance that the board will be able to continue. One of the board members was quoted as saying, "Well we're still Christians, and if we can't pray in the courtroom [where the meetings are held] we'll just have to pray in the hallway." WHICH IS EXACTLY WHAT THEY SHOULD HAVE BEEN DOING IN THE FIRST PLACE. They could have avoided the issue entirely if that's what they did. I wouldn't be surprised if the legal fees for the country run into six digits just like the case in Rhode Island.

On a related note, here's a link to the Virginia Statue for Religious Freedom. It's been part of our law for almost as long as we've been a state. It's quite clear on matters such as these. Jefferson considered it so important that it's one of only three things on his tombstone. (The other two are the Declaration of Independence and the founding of UVA.)

Huh ... I truly would never have guessed Northwest Pennsylvania was a hotbed of atheism. :)

There are SO many people that follow the religion of Christianity without understanding the message--which isn't "thou shalt enforce these rules upon the Earth." It's "love God, and love others." It really saddens me...many areas of the modern Christian church look a hell of a lot like the Pharisees. Who gives a fuck if gay marriage is being made legal? There are way more important things that need to be done.

...she is kind of cute...

MOVING ON

I supported her idea until that quote of hers. Look, it's one thing to win a perfectly fine movement like this, but to be a bitch about it....Jesus....
It makes us look bad...teenagers that is, nothing against Atheism.

Completely agree.

This whole situation seems like it was a huge waste of time.

You should read Donald Miller and Shane Claiborne. That's basically their entire message. Do what Christ says. I went with a church group to Louisville the other day and we spent hours just passing out bowls of food to homeless people. We even visited the tent camps where they live. There was no judgementalism, no preaching, just love. It was incredible.

Also, the music industry isn't completely dominated by atheists and apathy. U2 and I believe the Fray both incorporate their faith with their lyrics without being overtly religious.

Atheists being persecuted in America? What else is new?