General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: To those bemoaning the presence of the divine in the inauguration [View all]Major Nikon
(36,927 posts)Atheism most certainly is a culture, as much as anything else is a culture. Pretending it's not does not make it so and frankly I find the suggestion subliterate.
The goalposts were yours, not mine. Even if you could somehow support your assertion that atheists don't meet your criteria (and you haven't), the definition you provided for a minority group is certainly not the only academic one out there. The problem you run into when wiki is your only reference is you miss out on quite a bit. I also pointed out that women would most certainly not meet your own criteria, which demonstrates your definition is far from absolute.
2) the dominate group doesn't disapprove of the cultural and/or physical characteristics of women. Definition not met.
5) Women don't tend to marry each other. Definition not met.
Rather than deal with that flaw in your argument, you simply ignored it. Diversion noted. You also summarily ignored this from your own reference, "Cultural diversity definitions can be as controversial as diversity projects and initiatives."
Sociologists and other fully literate people routinely refer to atheists as a minorities. You could see for yourself in the following links, but given your propensity to pretend relevant facts don't exist leads me to believe you won't.
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-human-beast/201205/atheists-the-last-minority-get-civil-rights
http://www1.umn.edu/news/news-releases/2006/UR_RELEASE_MIG_2816.html
http://www.publicaffairs.ubc.ca/2011/11/30/ubc-study-explores-distrust-of-atheists-by-believers/
http://books.google.com/books?id=Sxd-zmTsyyMC&dq=A+Sociological+Study+of+Atheism&hl=en&sa=X&ei=pR3_UIHdJoTs2QWgsIGQDg&ved=0CDYQ6AEwAA
http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2011-04-29/opinions/35231017_1_atheists-religious-states-ban-on-religious-tests
http://asr.sagepub.com/content/71/2/211.abstract
http://www.oxfordhandbooks.com/view/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199588961.001.0001/oxfordhb-9780199588961-e-018
http://theweek.com/article/index/226625/the-rise-of-atheism-in-america
http://www.psmag.com/culture/distrust-powers-anti-atheist-prejudice-37784/
http://diverseeducation.com/article/5780/
http://digitalcommons.olin.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1019&context=ahs_capstone_2009
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2011/apr/15/scientific-caution-atheism-debate
http://www.science20.com/science_20/blog/atheists_minority_its_okay_stereotype-78571
http://www.alternet.org/story/151241/10_scariest_states_to_be_an_atheist
Cheers!