We are feared.

We are maligned.

We are hated.

We are accused of untrustworthiness.

We are called sinners.

We are belittled.

We are constantly under attack.

We are constantly battling for the enforcement of "Separation of Church and State".

We are discriminated against in the workplace.

We are discriminated against by our government.

Data like this really spotlights the problem.

I thought the statistics about liberal and conservative positions on atheists was relatively good news. We have an opportunity to make this an issue and really make a change.

When we've been hated even when we kept quiet.

Religion that leaves people as tribal as they were (or worse, makes them more tribal), is religion that has failed and is in need of reform.

The bigger issue seems to be lack of understanding of and/or exposure to other tribes.

Zach Wahls, who wrote "My Two Moms" had a great idea. He would hold small dinner parties for two couples who were friends. One would be a straight couple he knew to be relatively homophobic and the other a gay couple.

His intent was not to discuss GLBT civil rights issues and did not tell either couple much about the other. His intent was just for them to get to know each other, and his results were very, very positive.

It's hard to maintain bigotry and mistrust for a group when you start to meet them personally and they don't match your stereotyped prejudices.

Anyway, it's little things like that that can make big differences.

I think things are going to change and change relatively quickly when it comes to atheism in this country.

I think a lot of anti-atheist hysteria is created by conservative church leaders who don't want yet more competition. The only competition they need is the imaginary kind that they can use to scare their followers. Up until now, there hasn't been a lot of pushback on their demonization of atheists.

The biggest mistake conservatives made, in the long run, was to turn their churches into extensions of the Republican Party. That opened the door for people to leave those churches when they stopped agreeing with the politics on offer. All higher meaning that might have kept them there was drained out in the rush to create political cadres.

A significant number of people, particularly evangelicals, feel betrayed and used. They were promised action on two big issues - abortion and GLBT marriage.

Although some inroads were made, Roe v. Wade still stands an GLBT civil rights has made great strides. The neocons used those issues to capture the voting bloc, but it really wasn't high on their agenda, imo.

At any rate, I agree with you that it backfired in many ways.

with all the restrictions that get passed any time Republicans get into power in a state. It's the one area of their movement where they still have any energy. Homophobia is done, and defending the 1% is hardly popular with anyone who hasn't had their brain permanently wired into FOX News. But fighting choice can still get people to the polls.

Democrats really need to up their efforts on state and local levels. I predict some pro-choice backlash and reversal of some decisions over the next year or two, but it's going to take work.