One gas station owner here in South Carolina has a digital readout on all of his pumps that says "One nation under god. If you don't like it, LEAVE!" Sadly, it isn't the first time we've heard this. Many Americans also want immigrants and gays to leave as well.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywb1EdQtb9U

What is with my state? Just last month, we had a woman hang and burn a dog because it chewed her bible. It really pissed me off and I started a petition because I fear that she is going to receive undeserved lenience. I've heard people around here say things like "what if god really did tell her to do it?". I can't help but think she will be sentenced with the same delusion in mind. The ignorance here amazes me. Btw, if you haven't signed my petition, here is the link http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/woman-hangs-and-burns-dog/

Back to the subject. Christians really believe that they run this country. It is aparent that they want atheists out of it. How can we show them that this is not a Christian nation? We have quoted statements from our founding fathers, we have argued about separation of church and state, we have rejected creationism in our classrooms, and Obama has even stated on several occasions that this is not a Christian Nation. What else can we do to convince Christians that this is a country for everyone?

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Right you are, thx for the correction :)
Also, the puritans were religious extremists, a hold over from the past generation, seeking a safe-haven from the more moderate religious influences in England.

Actually, the pilgrims were being persecuted in England for not adhering to the faith (Catholic or Angican, I can't remember which) and went to Holland.  But they didn't like the religious tolerance in Holland, so they went to America.  They were actually pretty intolerant of beliefs other than their own, specific, protestant beliefs.   (I think it's kind of cool that Holland seems to have always been a place of diversity and tolerance, even hundreds of years ago.  It's an amazing country.  I mean, every place has issues, and they certainly have blemishes on their record, but it's still kind of a great legacy to have that kind of open minded culture that spans centuries.)

 

But the founding fathers did want to create a state that was separate from the church.  Many of them were theists, and some were not.  But as far as my understanding from the history class I took a few quarters ago, they all wanted people to be able to believe or not believe in whatever they want, without consequence.

 

 

Thanks :) I don't know anything about stuff like that. I'm just happy I can copy and post a link haha!

The Southern Baptist convention here in South Carolina is ran like the mafia. If you speak out to question their god that means you will have the courage to speak out against the laws they pass in the capital here. This Baptist cult runs deep around these parts and in every business so it is hard to escape them. On just about every car there is an outward sign of their faith with the fish and cross bumper stickers, and i just wish they were more here to stand up against them.

I wish the same thing. I've had conversations around here with a couple of doubters, but they would NEVER be open about it. I keep my mouth shut at work. That is the only place, though. Everywhere else everybody knows how I feel. It took me a looonnnngggg time to get the courage, and it was hard coming out, but I am so happy now that I have. I wish the other people would embrace their thoughts but they seem to run from them. After finding out that I was atheist, a friend of mine told me she had her doubts about god. She talked to me about it and I told her the logical reasons that a god is not feasible. Next time I saw here, she had put a jesus fish on her car and was wearing a cross necklace. She never mentioned anything about god to me again. Its been over 2 years now. We've remained friends on FB and she writes occasional religious statuses. I think she scared herself back into religion or something. Weird.

My major issue is the fact that you don't receive the message until after you've paid.  At least if it was stated up front I could just drive to the next station.

 

Maybe I'd walk in and say "Hope you feel good knowing you fed yourself tonight thanks to an honest, hard-working atheist and his money".

I used to hear that sort of thing all the time while living in the South.  It always amazed me that the people who said it had no idea that they were expressing hostility toward the notion of freedom.  To me, that is about as un-American as a person can be.  The U.S. was founded on notions of freedom of speech.  How could someone who grew up here really not know and understand that?
Oh, I forgot to mention that this person isn't just telling atheists to leave America.  He is telling anyone who doesn't want to live under a theocracy that they have no place here.  I should also mention that telling a group of people they don't belong in a country is the first stet toward telling them they have no right to exist at all.
Maybe we should start an atheist pride parade campaign.  I think the gay pride parades have had an impact over the years: letting people know that there are a lot of gays and they aren't ashamed of themselves.  An atheist pride parade could raise awareness and let some young people know that it's ok to question the belief system that's forced upon them.  I would suggest, however, that perhaps we could have a few less thongs and chaps in the atheist parade.
But thongs and chaps would make the parade fabulous.
I think you mean "Faaabulooouuusss".

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