Has General Discussion Been Hostile to Religious Believers recently?

[cemaphonic]

361. This is my take too.

Outside of the internet, and some of the liberal enclaves in large cities, being open about being an atheist will, at a minimum decrease your social and career prospects. Just about all of us regularly encounter believers that equate atheism with a sort of hedonistic sociopathy, since it doesn't have fear of divine retribution to hold us in check. Most of us keep quiet about it in our personal lives, because who needs that hassle, but that carries it's own price, especially in communities where the church is the heart of social life.

Internet anonymity has allowed atheists/agnostics/skeptics to speak out, and yeah, plenty of them are buttholes about it, but the snarky "invisible space wizard" talk is peanuts compared to the stuff that religious people say about atheists all the time. Even on the internet, if you check out some of the unmoderated forums where religion flamewars happen, atheists don't have a monopoly on being nasty and rude.