I was born in the late 1950s. I grew up with the civil rights movement, the La Raza movement, the Black Panthers, NOW, the coming out of the LBGT community, and many various groups seeking justice. The work isn't done for those movements and it looks like it may never be, but I was wondering when will this nation and the world finally accept atheists as normal people. When will our rights to not believe be recognized?
I am for almost every movement that seeks equality and justice for their segment of society but the most misunderstood and least recognized is the atheist demographic. Granted, we don't actually have an organization. Atheism isn't a social group or a biological difference. It is a personal choice to not accept a widespread pervasive myth.
I am not advocating special treatment as no movement I have mentioned is, just equality under the law.
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Something I have asked as well... it seems as a society we need to break from the indoctrination in order to move forward.
If you look beyond your borders, there is definitely hope that we can suppress our fears (that create religions) and gain rational scientific understanding about our world and life in it. Having spent considerable time in the US, I share your pessimism. It is a highly developed society but still greatly influenced and even controlled by mindless beliefs in ancient superstitions.
The problem seems to be superstition. Religionists seem reluctant to believe that their particular god(s) are just like any Roman, Greek, Norse or other gods. It may not be a choice they make. Perhaps some people simply are superstitious. It seems to be the way their minds work. Having said that, the attitude of many of them towards the non-religious and non-superstitious is just plain ignorant.
Speaking of attitudes to non-believers, the owner of Facebook recently said he is "not an atheist"...
http://uk.businessinsider.com/facebook-ceo-mark-zuckerberg-is-no-longer-...
And Atheist Republic seems to be having problems with our page...
http://www.atheistrepublic.com/blog/scott-jacobsen/interview-allie-jacks...
My guess: never. People want to believe they are special, that humanity is special; that they are not animals. How that want is expressed (major religions, new age stuff, general spirtualism) might change, but I don't think the overall want is going anywhere. We are the black sheep.
Not to say that the decline of the major institutes that currently serve this want would probably do some good for us.
I'm far less pessimistic. In fact, I think that religion is in decline and we are living through a reactionary period.
Superstition has always been the preserve of a minority and no, it will never entirely go away. However, the grip that religion has on the US population is steadily weakening and I think that non-believers are becoming less reviled and more trusted. It is a painfully long process but weren't the struggles Mykcob listed "long" too? Long is a relative term.
The majority in the UK are now non-believers and the USA will get there too.
Another factor is that the USA seems particularly responsive to pressure groups. Look at the wildly disproportionate influence of the NRA (gun control) and AIPAC (pro-Zionism). Religionists in the USA are well organised to promote their agendas while non-believers aim for inclusiveness.
Hmm not much response but I thought that was a really good question! :-)
Most Western countries are already approaching that stage or have already reached it. For example, there wasn't much controversy when New Zealand's latest prime minister refused to be sworn in using a bible. America seems to have gotten locked into a vicious circle in which religion is able to maintain a pernicious hold on elected government because politicians are afraid to admit to being non-believers to avoid offending voters. It's going to take a lot of courage and talented leadership to prise the cold hand of religion off the reins of power.
Perhaps another reason is fear. People might hate Blacks, Hispanics, etc., but they don't fear that their children are suddenly going to be turned into Blacks, etc. But with atheists and gays, that fear is very real to many people. If you're a fundamentalist Christian and your son or daughter announces that they're gay or atheist, who are you going to blame?
I wonder, too, if older Americans are still in the grip of Cold War hysteria. Atheism was part of the Soviet bogeyman propaganda put out by your government. When you use religion as a weapon of war, you let a dangerous genie out of the bottle.
I think we will look back at 09/11/2001 as the beginning of an honest critique of religion and it's value. "Our time" may be a centuries long cultural evolution.