It took me reading The God Delusion to see the very real discrimination faced by atheists in America in all walks of life and to be honest it did scare me and put me right off America as 'the land of the free'. Then, reading another book Homophobia: The State of Sexual Bigotry Today, by Martin Kantor MD painted a very similar picture of what homophobia was like in America.
In the UK I think Christianity does still have an influence in politics, particularly in the House of Lords, and Cameron does still make a point of saying he's a Christian, but in everyday life I can't think of any situation where someone would be discriminated against for being an atheist, and indeed I'd say it's the norm rather than the exception. It's certainly a non talking point and I'd say that even when there are Christians, they tend to be quite liberal.
With homophobia I'd say it's a bit different. I think there will always be homophobia wherever you are because IMO it's not caused by religion just amplified by it. So I've faced my fair share of homophobia in my life but except for in my own household, I wouldn't call it religiously motivated.
In the UK I think Christianity does still have an influence in politics, particularly in the House of Lords, and Cameron does still make a point of saying he's a Christian, but in everyday life I can't think of any situation where someone would be discriminated against for being an atheist, and indeed I'd say it's the norm rather than the exception. It's certainly a non talking point and I'd say that even when there are Christians, they tend to be quite liberal.
With homophobia I'd say it's a bit different. I think there will always be homophobia wherever you are because IMO it's not caused by religion just amplified by it. So I've faced my fair share of homophobia in my life but except for in my own household, I wouldn't call it religiously motivated.