I’d love to be able to leave the states… but moving states is more realistic (although also not an all of the sudden kinda decision either). I’m just curious what parts of the world are welcoming for people that don’t care to hear about religion… I’m stuck in Texas so I’m very out of place.
U.S. deep south. Send help.
Saaaame! My atheism made my MS smalltown Facebook page at one point. Fuck I'm glad to be out of that po dunk shit hole.
Being an atheist in MS didn’t make the paper, but it did get me fired
That sucks. I’m so sorry.
Wow. That’s awful.
Isn’t religion (or lack of) a protected class? How’d they get away with that?
It’s not like they put that in writing anywhere, so it’s impossible to prove. Also, MS is an “at will” state, which means that employees can be fired for no reason.
Ah, gotcha. What made you realize that’s why you were fired?
The owners are hardcore WASPs and so are the majority of their clients. This creates a working environment where discussion of religious matters comes up during informal conversations. I avoid the topic whenever possible and am pretty good at deflecting with vague comments about my Christian upbringing (all true). After working there for a few years, I felt comfortable enough to let some of my coworkers know that I am a nonbeliever. Apparently, word spread. Comments were made in my presence without directly calling me out. In short order, I found myself having to defend minor errors, being shut out of pertinent meetings, and ultimately fired.