There's an intolerant attitude that some (not all) religious people (+ a few self hating atheists + agnostics) have that religion bestows upon them some kind of special status immune to dissent or criticism. The mere fact that only 45% of Americans according to this recent Gallup poll http://www.editorandpublisher.com/... would even consider voting for an atheist suggests that bigotry against the non religious extends well beyond conservative circles since at least half of that 55% are progresssives, liberals or moderates. (And these people should know better which is why I hold them to a higher standard.)
Of course these bigots can't look at the person or her values but this must make me "anti Christian" even though I've voted for a Christian for President in every single presidential election that I was eligible to.
Being religious should not grant any person any special privileges (nor deny any religious person equal privileges). The topic is not off limits.
Words like blasphemy, faith, holy, and devout serve as superficial barriers meant to immunize religion from a level playing field while words like morality, spirituality, and godliness are often intertwined with religion when each concept is mutually exclusive from theology.
Being religious does not make a person moral. Morality is mutually exclusive from religion although many religious people are indeed moral.
Being religious does not make a person spiritual. Spirituality is mutually exclusive from religion although many religious people are highly spiritual.
Being religious does not make a person godly. Godliness is mutually exclusive from religion although many religious people act in a godly manner.
It's not disrespectful to state an opinion contrary to agnosticism or atheism on the second Sunday of April. Likewise, it is not disrespectful to state an opinion questioning the core tenets of Christianity on the second Sunday of April.
It's not blasphemy to say the bible is the word of god. Nor is it blasphemy to say the bible is a bunch of fictitious BS. Calling the bible the word of god should have the same intellectual weight as calling Green Eggs and Ham the word of god.
Saying God Bless You should have the same moral weight as saying Human Bless You.
If someone can claim that a certain Thursday is holier than all other Thursdays, can I now claim that a Tuesday commemorating atheism and agnosticism is more holier than all other Tuesdays in a given year?
Saying that I am agnostic does not make me any more or less devout than a person who claims to be Christian or Muslim.
Questionable religious teachings are passed off as "holidays" but if society created 5-10 days of the year celebrating atheism or agnosticism and called them holidays, would the same religious people object?
But the moment I criticize religion, it gets called disrespectful by some. Then is it disrespectful to criticize atheism? Pick a consistent standard but don't expect some special privilege.
Our Constitution makes it clear that there shall be no religious test for public office. The First right granted to Americans is the right to be free from religious oppression. Jefferson called Christianity the "most perverse system that ever shone on man." John Adams signed the Treaty of Tripoli which states that in no way was America founded on the Christian religion. George Washington also stated that "America is not a Christian nation."
Yet millions of Americans want to impose Christianity on all of society instead of being able to accept the right of people to practice Christianity without interfering with other people's constitutional rights.
Richard Dawkins (whom I find brilliant and I highly recommend his book the God Delusion even though I don't agree with everything stated.) argues that the God of the major religions is
"arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully." http://www.richarddawkins.com/
Since billions of people have died in the name of religion, with Christianity topping the list and Islam a clear cut second, we must create a society where everybody should feel free and able to criticize religion without having to worry about getting their house egged, their job lost, their phone crank called, or their physical well being imperiled. The idea that I should remain silent when people are being raped, mutilated, brutalized, and murdered in the name of God is far more repugnant than any thought I've ever expressed in my lifetime.
Of course I'll be called "anti-Christian" notwithstanding that I've voted for Christians John Kerry, Al Gore, and Bill Clinton in the last three presidential cycles. But not to worry. My "faith" can handle the insults. I judge the person and his or her values. If those good values happen to come in the form of Christianity, then "God bless them."