God: No magic required

[Darkstar]

The Catholic bishops claim that they are a persecuted minority.

Hence the 'war on Christmas', wherein Christians cry persecution whenever atheists try to uphold separation of church and state.

Atheists, Catholics, and Evangelicals all watch NFL football on big flat screens and drink craft beer while so doing. If they don't like football, they can choose between Hannity, Maher, Maddow, Limbaugh, Stuart, and so on. Life sure is tough for these persecuted minorities.

I was about to say "well, they're not legally disadvantaged" until I remembered that in seven states it is illegal for an atheist to hold public office. It would easily be shot down in a higher court, but still...

I'm not an expert on the UK, but do I listen to the BBC most nights. Don't see a lot of evidence for anti-atheist bias there.

I don't think it is nearly as prevalent in the UK.

So any atheist who (like Bill Maher, for example) chooses to make public derogatory remarks against religious people should realistically expect blow back, as well.

I can more or less understand that, an an atheist merely existing is considered derogatory to some Christians.

Discrimination against atheists

What's there to feel stressed about, much less persecuted?

I hesitate to say atheists are 'persecuted' because it seems like such a strong word (though they are persecuted in Islamic countries, where apostasy is punishable by death). The exact definition of persecute is:

per·se·cute transitive verb \ˈpər-si-ˌkyüt\
: to treat (someone) cruelly or unfairly especially because of race or religious or political beliefs

Unfairly? Perhaps. Cruelly? Mostly only in the Islamic countries, though some people can end up being disowned by their families for being atheist in the US. (I've little idea as to how frequently this occurs, though.)