Austin Cline over at About.com put together this comprehensive list of surveys showing just how despised atheists are as a minority. When Americans were asked who they would vote for, the atheist candidate was always the most hated one. For people like you and me, this kind of attitude seems pretty puzzling. Sure, we can be a bunch of killjoys at parties, but statistically, we are less likely to commit violent or petty crimes. We’re a pretty moral bunch, all things being equal. So why are we so despised?

Finally, other studies and surveys indicate that prejudice against atheists is going back up. A March, 2007 survey done by Newsweek shows that 62% of people would refuse to vote for any candidate admitting to being an atheist. Republicans were, predictably, the most bigoted at 78%, followed by Democrats at 60% and independents at 45%. Among those surveyed, 47% claimed that America is more accepting of atheists than in the past. I wonder where they got that idea? The only positive results from this survey were that 68% of the people felt that atheists could be moral — but this begs the question of why people won’t vote for atheists.

Believing in God is like being part of a club; although there might be a large variety of them, the fact there are so many others who believe in a relatively similar intangible being is comforting; it reinforces their belief that he does, in fact, exist. Atheists completely reject this notion, and their adamant objections and arguments break up their comforting world view.

The idea that anyone can live peaceful and fulfilled lives without God is a huge threat to their belief system. After all, religions use human ignorance and fear as recruitment tools. Worried about whether or not you’re living morally? Worried about what will happen to you when you die? Try religion! Of course, the fact an ever increasing proportion of the population reject the facile answers of theocracy threatens their monopoly over our culture. It’s no surprise, then, that pastors in church teach their parishioners to despise and distrust atheists.

Is it possible to change this prejudice attitude towards us? It’s doubtful it’s going to change anytime soon. Despite the rhetoric that Christianity is somehow a peaceful and tolerant religion, the simple truth is ‘good’ Christians were the ones pushing for segregation as much as they were fighting for civil rights. Today, a great number of them fight both for and against gay marriage. The only way to predict the behavior of Christians is to examine their degree of religiosity. The more they believe, the more they hate others who don’t mimic their beliefs.

Normally I don’t pay much attention to those who ceaselessly attack Dawkins and Hitchens, mostly because although I respect and enjoy their books, they are not the definitive works on the subject of atheism. Yes, both The God Delusion and God is Not Great make powerful cases against believing in God, but to say these two tomes somehow embody all of the principles of atheism would be a lie, one that Terry Eagleton seems to have no problem spreading. He’s written a new book called Reason, Faith and Revolution where he accuses both authors of being ignorant on the subject of mainstream Christianity.

The problem, of course, is that Dawkins and Hitchens never deal with mainstream Christianity primarily due to the fact moderate Christians are not truly Christians at all. Sure, they claim to believe in the Bible and its teachings, but in actuality they follow the moral teachings of the age of Enlightenment. Modern Christianity is nothing like its ancient counterpart, but this veneer of modernity can be peeled off, revealing a religion that is still stuck in the Bronze Age.

I’ve lived my whole life in a Christian community, and know full well the kinds of people it develops: close minded bigots, usually. I will not deny there is a great element of fraternity and social commitment that has a long tradition in the religion, but this is often countered with their supreme efforts to convert those they help as well. Food, shelter and clothing are sometimes only offered to those who profess Jesus as their savior.

I’ve never found Dawkins or Hitchens were ignorant of religion. On the contrary; both are highly educated men who have long studied the Bible and the history of Christianity. The irony here is they know more about Christianity than most Christians, who read so little of their own Bible that their morality often comes from other, more secular sources.

It sounds like I’m trying to defend these two men, who obviously don’t need my help, but it really bugs me when authors attack other writers simply because they don’t like what they’ve read. Straw man attacks are pretty common in religious circles, so I’m not usually all that surprised. Still, I’m putting Eagleton’s little book on my list of things to read this year. We’ll see how strong his argument is (considering he calls Dawkins and Hitchens “Ditchkins”, I’m not too hopeful it’ll be a fair critique).

The New York Times wrote a piece yesterday on the growing atheist movement, and the increased confidence of many non-believers who are tired of hiding their beliefs. It’s one of the few articles that seems to show us with dignity, humanity, and understanding. This, increasingly, is the kind of coverage we should be seeking. It’s no secret a great proportion of Americans still think we are despicable, Satan worshiping whackos. Most have never taken the time to actually hear us out, so these kinds of pieces are at least showing people that we are not afraid anymore.

The angle of the story is that rather than attract negative attention, atheist organizations are getting huge outpourings of support from both monetary contributions and well wishers. We are witnessing the beginning of stronger atheist organizations that help clean up roads, feed the homeless, and provide a range of services that have been the domain of religious institutions. We’re getting stronger, and this can only mean good things.