[quote=donniedarko]Also 54% of Americans would vote for an atheist, which is a majority

http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/4802608[/quote]

[quote=donniedarko]If someone was a member of the church of scientology I wouldn't vote for them myself. Is there something wrong with that?[/quote]

[quote=donniedarko]A big chunk of Americans would rather vote for someone with religious ideologies that ally with theirs. Doesn't mean it's impossible to be elected as an atheist, I also haven't seen many try.[/quote]

[quote=matt72582]You missed my point. It's that every group is accepted except for atheists. Now, if you want to talk about the level of discrimination - there aren't many atheists being lynched.[/quote]

[quote=Yoda]Here's a handful of [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_atheists_in_politics_and_law#United_States"]exceptions[/url]. And if you think not being voted to high office in significant numbers constitutes not just "discrimination" but the "most discrimination" of any group, then you and I have wildly different definitions of the word.[/quote]

[quote=matt72582]In politics today, you can be black, gay, a woman, but you can't be an atheist.[/quote]

[quote=Yoda][quote=90sAce]He has a valid point - some state constitutions specifically forbidded atheists from serving in office even in the 21st century[/quote]
Which were never enforced. And the statement was not "I think freethinkers are sometimes subject to discrimination," but that they were the [i]most discriminated group in this country[/i]. That's an awfully high bar to clear, especially compared to immediately identifiable things like race.[/quote]

[quote=90sAce][quote=90sAce][quote=matt72582]I agree... There are agnostics, ignostics (myself), deists, etc. etc..

Dawkins was in it, but there was an aggressive guy, and there was a very peaceful guy. 

It showed how this young adult couldn't go on with the charade, since his parents were Baptist Fundamentalists, saying how their son is dead. The interviewer was shocked, and asked again, and the parents kept saying, "The scriptures..." and the son was the more mature adult, said it hurt, and that even though his parents are the way they are, he would never say they were dead...

I think freethinkers are the most discriminated group in this country, but no one fights on our behalf because it's not marketable.[/quote]
Yeah, another problem is that the 'new atheism' crowd focuses too much on religious extremists and cults such as fundamental Baptists.

Even though most people who simply "believe there is a God" wouldn't agree with them, just like mainstream Muslims wouldn't agree with ISIS.

So if their goal is just to shed light on how dangerous religious fundies are, then that's fine - but if their then they're alienating the mainstream by using religious cults as the only alternative to "atheism".[/quote]
Main problem I have with modern atheism is that it focuses too much on fighting AGAINST bad causes (such as religious fundamentalists), but not offering a good alternative cause to fight FOR[/quote]

[quote=90sAce][quote=matt72582]I agree... There are agnostics, ignostics (myself), deists, etc. etc..

Dawkins was in it, but there was an aggressive guy, and there was a very peaceful guy. 

It showed how this young adult couldn't go on with the charade, since his parents were Baptist Fundamentalists, saying how their son is dead. The interviewer was shocked, and asked again, and the parents kept saying, "The scriptures..." and the son was the more mature adult, said it hurt, and that even though his parents are the way they are, he would never say they were dead...

I think freethinkers are the most discriminated group in this country, but no one fights on our behalf because it's not marketable.[/quote]
Yeah, another problem is that the 'new atheism' crowd focuses too much on religious extremists and cults such as fundamental Baptists.

Even though most people who simply "believe there is a God" wouldn't agree with them, just like mainstream Muslims wouldn't agree with ISIS.

So if their goal is just to shed light on how dangerous religious fundies are, then that's fine - but if their then they're alienating the mainstream by using religious cults as the only alternative to "atheism".[/quote]

[quote=90sAce][quote=Yoda][quote=matt72582]I think freethinkers are the most discriminated group in this country[/quote]
Sorry, but this is straight-up ridiculous.[/quote]
He has a valid point - some state constitutions specifically forbidded atheists from serving in office even in the 21st century[/quote]

[quote=Yoda][quote=matt72582]I think freethinkers are the most discriminated group in this country[/quote]
Sorry, but this is straight-up ridiculous.[/quote]