That is absolutely hilarious in the sheer ludicrously of that statement. When I tell Christians that I am an atheist, I get comments like:

"But you can't be - you're a good person."

"You're going to go to hell because you don't believe in Jesus.

"You need to stop having sex orgies and stop worshiping Satan."

What you are experiencing is a backlash that has taken decades in coming. For centuries, atheists have been put to death, tortured, etc. for not believeing in Christ. Until about 20 years ago, atheists remained quiet when Christians started trying to convert them.

And then, I guess, the worm turned. Atheists finally had enough of Christians approaching them to preach the gospel, and sheer manners and politeness made them endure it.

The problem is not that atheists play the persecution card. That's the one that Christians play. It's that atheists are the most educated and the most intelligent people on the planet (you can google that). They are also the best informed about religion, and that includes (for me) knowing the bible backwards.

Of course, you can then say that the devil knows the bible well, to which an atheist will simply ask you for photography proof of the devil's existence.