Thoughts on Perceptions

I am an atheist. I've said that many times before and I'll probably say it many more times. It's easy for me to say this living in Switzerland because Switzerland is a very tolerant place. In some other places however, me saying those words could get me killed. I know I talk a lot about American politics, but the way atheists are perceived in America is bad. While saying your an atheist may not necessarily get you killed, it can certainly kill your political ambitions. Normally I write a piece expressing my opinion, but this time I want to ask a question. The same question a poll asked Americans.

The first question is a fill in the blank and then answer. 

If your party nominated a generally well-qualified person for president who happened to be ________, would you vote for that person?

Here are the answers and how Americans responded (Yes-No)

Black (96-4)

a Woman (95-5)

Catholic (94-5)

Hispanic (92-7)

Jewish (91-6)

Mormon (80-18)

Gay or Lesbian (68-30)

Muslim (58-40)

Atheist (54-43)

Those numbers indicate those who gave a definitive answer. Some people were unsure.

Ok, a quick opinion from me. The fact that all of those numbers aren't 100-0 is quite frankly ridiculous. What's even crazier is that 43% of people wouldn't vote for a well-qualified person from their own party simply because they lacked belief in a god.

Here's another question. This one asks about how likely someone is to vote for someone. 

In this scenario we have Candidate X, who you know nothing about. How would each of these traits impact your likelihood of supporting a candidate?

Here are the traits and how Americans responded (More likely-Less Likely-No Effect) (Total Swing)

Candidate X _________

Served in the military (43-4-53) (+39)

was a Governor (33-5-59) (+28)

was a Business Executive (33-13-53) (+20)

Attended a prestigious university (19-6-74) (+13)

is a Woman (19-9-71) (+10)

is in their 40s (16-6-77) (+10)

is an Evangelical Christian (21-17-58) (+4)

is a Catholic (9-8-81) (+1)

is Hispanic (9-9-80) (0)

has Washington experience (19-30-48) (-11)

has used Marijuana (6-22-70) (-16)

is Homosexual (5-27-66) (-22)

is in their 70s (6-36-55) (-30)

has had an Extramarital affair (2-35-61) (-33)

has Never held political office (9-52-37) (-43)

is an Atheist (5-53-41) (-48)

Ok first of all, who the hell are the 2% more likely to vote for someone who has had an extra-martial affair? Yes that's the guy I want, the guy who cheats on his wife. Once again though, atheists are at the bottom of the pile. More than half of the people surveyed said they would be less likely to vote for an atheist.

So here's the question I'm asking to anyone religious, American or both? Why the negative perception of atheists?