I'm an atheist and a philosopher so I have an equal mental and so then social standing at least.
You're too young to be claiming you're a philosopher. You have minimal education and have little to no knowledge of this world. And besides, just cause you're an Atheist doesn't mean you shouldn't read the Bible.
<insert your favorite troll face here>
I'll bite anyways though.
I think it's safe to say that age doesn't matter, much like gender, or for that matter art degrees. While knowledge of the world is certainly useful, any small piece of it could technically disprove every point of someone else. combine that with the fact that everyone has at least SOME knowledge of the world, this becomes somewhat irrelevant for considering respect; or for that matter, a debate. If a person doesn't know something, then you should be able to teach them.
As for the thought that an atheist should read the christian bible, why? Most people don't even read the constitution to their country, let alone state, let alone even know the laws where they live. The Bible is far less useful in everyday life than that. In importance to philosophy, I'd rate it among comic books.
In importance to culture, perhaps higher, but only because so many people think specific parts of it are factual. Even that is cherry picked though, as evidenced by their actions. We don't, for example, follow much of anything form Leviticus, the book of laws. Most people also don't believe a bat is a type of bird, even if they believe that moses held two huge walls of water while thousands of slaves walked through a canyon under the red sea.