I agree with you that it is bad. A lot of people would get mad if the bill said “In Obama we trust”, it would look like political manipulation to control the people. They would also get angry if it mentioned “Allah” or “Great Forest Spirit” instead of God.
I think it is very clear that it is not the real problem, it’s just part of it. The big picture is illustrated in this funny video.
However, I do not think the best way to fight the problem is to use law to force people to stop. I mean, if law impeached schools from praying during class and removed God from dollars, they would get angry and rebel against the State. The police would have to enforce the law somehow, and that would take resources that would be better spent on something else, and also increase people’s rage against atheists.
I know preventing minorities to be oppressed is one of the purposes of the law, but I can hardly see this as oppression. It doesn’t hurt anyone, it just annoys.
It is critical that atheist “behave” and don’t try fighting these minor issues. I say that, if you are being oppressed by your boss or workmates for being an atheist, then use the law. Only use the law when you are explicitly injured. It is critical that we give them a good impression, otherwise they will blame atheism and the prejudice against atheists will increase.
We have to fight against culture. Our only weapon in this case is freedom of speech, so we use it to make people think and change their minds, slowly. Bother people into thinking, reflecting. Don’t force shit into their minds for that is exactly what religions do to them, just let them think and make conclusions on their own.
Unrelated funny fact: in court, witnesses make an oath to tell the truth in the name of God, which means that, if they might go to hell for not saying the truth. Nevertheless, they lie. Now, when the attorney says the witness should say the truth otherwise it might go to prison, they start to tell the truth.
