Why is it so hard to be openly atheist in today's world

[QuarkDriven]

I read somewhere that an open atheist cannot run for office in this country.

As far as I know, you can run for office, but you will have an overwhelmingly good chance at failure... Nobody wants to vote for the atheist, and by nobody I of course mean the religious population...

One reason why I think it's so hard is cause it's not easy for atheists to be open about it.. In a world where people view atheists on par with rapists, its difficult to be open about your beliefs, or lack there of...You're right when you say people view atheists as "sub human" or as a second class citizen, even when everyone else is an athiest to all other gods out there... I suppose belief in different god to them is better then belief in no god... There are far more atheists out here (talking about the US) then we know there are... If more of us "come out" then little by little it will be more socially accpetable.

I for one, still am afraid to say anything even in my social circle and to my family.. I just don't have the courage to do that yet and I'm aware I'm a part of the problem I just stated. I don't know how my long term girlfriend is going to react and that scares me...