I do a lot of complaining about how atheists are treated in America. This could be confused for a lack of appreciation for the freedoms that come with having been born here. It's quite the opposite though. My disdain for the way many American Christians behave is because of my fondness for our Separation of Church and State.
My complaints about American Christians may also be seen as me ignoring how it is in some other countries. I'm well aware of how poorly many countries treat atheists and sometimes even other believers. For instance, there are seven countries where being atheist can be punishable by death.
The report tracks, among other things, which countries have laws explicitly targeting atheists. There are not many, but the states that forbid non-religiousness – typically as part of “anti-blasphemy” legislation – include seven nations where atheism is punishable by death. All seven establish Islam as the state religion. Though that list includes some dictatorships, the country that appears to most frequently condemn atheists to death for their beliefs is actually a democracy, if a frail one: Pakistan. Others include Saudi Arabia, Iran, Afghanistan, Sudan, the West African state of Mauritania, and the Maldives, an island nation in the Indian Ocean. These countries are colored red on the above map.
Pakistan
Saudi Arabia
Iran
Afghanistan
Sudan
Mauritania
The Maldives
As much as I hate how many Christians behave in America, we do have it better than any of those seven countries.
This certainly doesn't mean I'll lay off the American Christians though. Our fight against their efforts to force their religion onto us and into our government is all that is keeping our country from being added to that map.
Credit: @MidUSAtheist/@omarbaddar
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