The University of Minnesota released a study which asserted that atheists, more than any other group, are least trusted by the American public. From the press release:

From a telephone sampling of more than 2,000 households, university researchers found that Americans rate atheists below Muslims, recent immigrants, gays and lesbians and other minority groups in "sharing their vision of American society." Atheists are also the minority group most Americans are least willing to allow their children to marry.

The study's lead researcher concluded that atheists today are taking up the mantle of past marginalized groups such as communists, Catholics, and Jews.

So if Christianity is all about "love your brother," why all the hatin'?

In a society that equates religiosity with morality, atheists are therefore pinned as selfish, amoral individuals out of step with the social mores of the culture and people around them.

Like the brooding, scheming pinko commie caricature of yesteryear, today's domestic boogeyman is the horrible, twisted soul who lurks in the shadows, ready to strip mentions of "god" from anywhere they see them, use the lure of Darwin to turn your children into hell-bound unbelievers, burn your copy of the Bible, take multiple wives and maybe, let's say, club baby seals too. In sum: very little is being done or has been done to rehabilitate the image of our atheist brothers and sisters beyond anything but the crudest stereotypes.

One of my favorite shows on that big glowy box we all aim our couches at is (creator of Super Size Me) Morgan Spurlock's 30 Days. In each episode, someone is taken out of her/his environment and placed into a radically different one, for 30 days. From wired New Yorkers put on a self-contained, off-the-grid community farm in the middle of nowhere, to a fundamentalist Christian living with a Muslim family, the idea is for the participants -- and the viewers -- to get as close to living in others' shows as possible. It's a great idea and a great goal. Recently there was an episode where an atheist moved in with a Christian family. I've only seen parts of it, but it's a fascinating interaction and mutual learning, something we all need more of. Here's a clip from it, where the atheist brings the Christian couple out to dinner with some of her atheist friends:



The points brought up are important. If it is acceptable in society for people to evangelize their own particular faith, be it door-to-door, leaving tracts all over the place, or in simple conversation, why do so many become livid when atheists talk about their absence of faith and the reasons why they came to such a conclusion? Is the difference between two religions to be respected and tread lightly over more than the difference between a religion and none? Those are serious questions and ones where no easy answer can be arrived at quickly.

However, the idea that religion is the (only!) source of all morality is simple hogwash. We've had a rather complex and well-developed sense of right and wrong since we were essentially chimps. Couple that with the fact that socialization into a society's moral norms is a product of growing up and does not necessarily involve a deity, and the numerous studies and reports that back that up, and religionists' claims of atheism's inherent amorality are amazingly unfounded.

Richard Dawkins in his (rather) controversial documentary "Root of All Evil?" that aired on BBC4 this past spring, did a nice rehashing of Bertrand Russell's "Teapot Atheist" argument:



There aren't too many atheists in popular culture these days either (except for the delightfully acerbic House, M.D.). But, atheists have been around for a long time (especially back in the Freethought heydays of Robert Ingersoll), and aren't going away any time soon. It's time we as progressives stood up as vigorously for their right and ability to express their lack of faith as we defend the rights of the faithful.