What constitutes religious persecution?

Via BlueGal and The Vanity Press comes this article at Frameshop indicating a growing tendency of Christians to believe that they are victims of discrimination.

The President of the United States professes to be a Christian. So do most of the people around him. Joe Lieberman isn't a Christian, but he's every bit as much a God-thumper as those who are.

78% OF Americans are Christians.

So on what fucking planet are they the victims of discrimination? I haven't heard of anyone being unable to get a job, or an apartment, or a mortgage, or get married, because they are Christian. So where the hell is the discrimination? Or does "discrimination" mean "Unable to shove my beliefs down everyone else's throat"?

And therein lies the fundamental (heh) problem with Christianity, especially, well, the fundamentalist variety: because an integral part of the faith is "spreading the Word" (read: proseletyzing and conversion, by force if necessary), those who believe it is incumbent on them to turn everyone else into Christians are going to feel discriminated against when they, for example, are teachers not allowed to tell their students that they belong in hell if they don't believe in Jesus and that the Bible has disproven science. They're going to feel discriminated against when they aren't allowed to proseletyze their co-workers and friends and the person in front of them in the checkout line at the supermarket.

But does that mean real discrimination?

When we look at groups that HAVE been victims of discrimination -- women who were unable to vote until 1920; black Americans who weren't allowed to vote, weren't allowed to attend white schools, weren't allowed to eat at white-owned restaurants in the south and for much of American history weren't even regarded as fully human; gay Americans who may be denied jobs, housing, and the same rights of connection as other Americans; it's hard to look at Christians not being able to bring back the Inquisition, the Salem Witch Hunts, and other stellar examples of Christian Love throught the history of Western civiliation, and see how the hell they are victims of discrimination.

If they really want to feel victimized and discriminated against, perhaps they ought to convert to Wicca.