I suspect a lot of them grew up in families of a strongly religious bent. Families can't be "escaped" from when you're a kid. They then impute this to the town as a whole. But on the whole, as an adult, I don't see small towns in the US insisting on religious observance from a given person. You might have to "tolerate" a cross on the city hall's lawn, but considered on a global scale that's not exactly asking for a lot. (That is, considering that some sort of big imposition is, in its own way, pretty parochial.)

There's certainly other ways of getting on the wrong side of the rumor mill, but, then, I think a lot of times the answer there is that one must often seek out a community that accepts them. Many of the small townies that go to the big city and find some community that accepts them would find those communities just as hostile to the people they left; it's not that they're "more accepting", it's that they accept you. The big city is "more accepting" because there's more subcommunities to be a part of, not because it's full of magically superhumanly tolerant people. And small towns simply lack the size to have a wide diversity of niche communities.

Indian judiciary is mostly good and most of the persons can go out on bail and easily get the case dismissed.

It's the religious nuts you have to fear.

To be fair, it is very easy to get in a position where you have no work in some small town. Which is okay if you can work remotely...

I am aware that folks getting lynched where I live is generally more reserved for racial rather than religious or intellectual minorities, so I am well aware that it can be worse, so much worse even where I live for different kinds of minority populations.

But it is quite possible that the real outcome of being publicly atheistic or gay in a rural community is that you can't practically run a business or hold a local public office, and that is not hyperbole.

The criminal justice system is not the only means employed by American communities to punish deviancy.

Small town America will not arrest you for being atheist, but you may be passed over for promotion, your children may be bullied while outside of your protection, you will have a difficult time participating in local culture, and you will not enjoy the same sort of "slack" extended to the "in" crowd. It would also be unwise to buy a house with HOA covenant restrictions, as you may find that the lawn and landscaping of atheists are held to higher standards than those of households attending the same church as the HOA president.

Small and petty-minded people are everywhere on this planet. They will go as far as everyone else allows them to go. And wherever they are the majority, all others beware.

So some places, they just kill you. Other places, they make you want to kill yourself. Either way, you are surrounded by people that have no respect for individuality. In that sense, it is as bad, but obviously, being murdered arbitrarily is worse than not ever being invited to the neighborhood barbecue.

Either way, you have to either hide your true nature or move somewhere less hostile.

Certain types of people are attracted to the cities. Americans in general seem to me the most anti-city of the western world. The English in general are proud of London, as are the French of Paris. I don't think you have the same wide approval of NYC or LA in America.