Is it really as bad as it's made out in this article or on Reddit? Do your neighbours really get into your hair because you don't have a faith?
That's OK, 'cause we Americans can be smug right back at you over the way Gypsies are treated in Europe.
Just as we treat atheists the way Europe did a century ago, Europe treats the Gypsies the way America treated black people a century ago. Actually, Europe doesn't seem all that friendly to blacks yet, either, at least judging by what soccer fans have been chanting at opposing team black players.
So...don't get too smug over there. :-)
Can you cite a source for that? Because it sounds like one HUGE violation of the 1st amendement.
"Sec. 4. RELIGIOUS TESTS. No religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office, or public trust, in this State; nor shall any one be excluded from holding office on account of his religious sentiments, provided he acknowledge the existence of a Supreme Being." [1]
This doesn't actually say that an atheist can't hold office, but a non-believer can be excluded from office.
There are some particularly egregious examples of public-office tests listed in [2]; in particular Tennessee.
[1] http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/Docs/CN/htm/CN.1.htm
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discrimination_against_atheists...
If you've seen Lars von Trier's excellent Breaking the Waves you will get the idea.
[NB I don't think things are nearly as strict as they used to be.]
The level of engagement I have seen in US is far beyond this.
It probably depends on where you live. Here in PA, it's been a non-issue for me.
But then, be careful. America is much larger than Europe, and while we are all part of the same country, we aren't the same people. There are big difference among the different parts of the country, and making them out to be all the same would be like me using a single country and extrapolating that out to all countries in Europe.
Even still, I have religious friends, and non-religious friends. It's never come up, and never been an issue.
Europe (the continent) actually has a larger area (10,180,000 km² > 9,826,675 km²) and a much larger population (739.2 million > 313.9 million ) than the United States (the country).
I presume you mean the EU (which still has a much larger population) or maybe Western Europe? Or maybe North America (the continent)?
Personally, I think that Europe does have a lot more cultural diversity than the United States - but I can see that the point is arguable and that it's hardly a case of being "delusional" to argue the opposing point.
And if that's the case, treating the USA as a comparable EU country in terms of diversity ignores that diversity found here. Which is what was being discussed in the first place.
Still, I'd argue that the US is far more diverse than any single country of the EU, so treating the people of the US as all being the same is as silly as treating the people of the EU as all being the same.
Context, people, context.
Only in land area, and much of that extra land area is very sparsely populated. Europe has over twice as many people.
I mean, let's be reasonable. You are part of a community that strongly identifies with a set of beliefs and activities. You become disillusioned with said set of beliefs and activities. How are you going to stay part of that community? Doesn't matter if its NASCAR, hacking around in python, DIY bioengineering, whatever.
What happens is that there are situations where entire physical communities (in the sense of the set of people you will likely run into) also form a single actual community (in the sense of some sort of in-group), which is really unfortunate. I mean, no matter how welcoming and polite that ingroup is, your going to feel left out and somewhat alienated.
"Ok, so you're an atheist. Wait, you're not a {local team here} fan!!!"
Rangers/Celtic, Hearts/Hibs etc.