Predjudice in School towards atheists

[mediamogul]

Hello fellow debaters and defenders of Atheism, My name is Adam, (ironic I know).
I am a teenager that lives in a southern rural town. In my town, of only 4000 people, there are twenty-three different churches. As you can tell it is a town pretty much based on religion.
I, myself, am an atheist for my own reasons that I will save for a different thread. Being an atheist openly and proudly in this town isn't easy, I’m bullied at school, looked down on by most adults, and worst of all, not taken seriously in any discussion.
I believe that if had said to the kids at school that I actually had a religion, be it even Buddhism they wouldn't care and would leave me alone.
So my question is this, what is it about atheism that puts people up in arms, although they stay neutral and find it offensive to poke fun at an actual "religion."

Hi. Welcome to the forums. Someone was nice enough to remind me to do an introduction so one good turn deserves another. Don't forget to do an introduction!

I agree with what other folks have said regarding you feeling like you have to be on the defensive. That is the Christian tactic to break you down and rebuild you in their image. The truth of the matter is that they have made the positive claim, professed belief in something, and therefore they are the one's who need to defend their position with logic, facts, and evidence. This is something they are unable to do. I remember this moment in my life where I realized that I didn't have to be on the defensive as I had been taught to think but instead started putting them on the defensive by demanding logic and evidence. You don't have to prove that god doesn't exist, that miracles didn't happen, or that the bible is true. They have to prove that they ARE true. When you switch to this mindset it becomes easier to respond to the things that they say. The last thing is think about what they are actually claiming: 6000 year old earth, a flood that killed everyone in the world except 8, god killing man woman and child regularly, a jewish carpenter born of a virgin who died and was ressurrected. Come now. This is some crazy stuff to ask a person to believe.

Hang in there. Things do get better.