It's as if their prayers haven't been answered?

Great article in The Washington Post about Americans' suspicion of atheists in spite of empirical evidence that shows they're not so bad and, in some ways, better than the 'average' American:

"A growing body of social science research reveals that atheists, and non-religious people in general, are far from the unsavory beings many assume them to be. On basic questions of morality and human decency — issues such as governmental use of torture, the death penalty, punitive hitting of children, racism, sexism, homophobia, anti-Semitism, environmental degradation or human rights — the irreligious tend to be more ethical than their religious peers, particularly compared with those who describe themselves as very religious."

Interesting thing is Julia Gillard, the Prime Minister of Australia, admitted publicly to being an atheist and she is THE PRIME MINISTER OF AUSTRALIA! You would never see that happen in the United States. Then again, many people also claimed we would never see an African-American president in our lifetime either.