Give me a reasonable believer over an uncompromising atheist any day

[cbayer]

78. There is no minority movement that is going to get the steam it needs to be heard

without forming alliances with at least some other minority groups and preferably some majority groups being on their team.

My association with many atheists, some of them radically so, including my husband, has helped me understand where we have common ground and why some of the issues they care about are issues I care about, too.

The two most important things I see are decreasing the fear/ignorance/bigotry towards self-described atheists. Exposure and rational conversation are the way to do this, imo, and I have seen it in action. It's like the process of any civil rights movement. It is harder to hate a group once you personally know some of the members. The second is eliminating the overwhelming influence and importance of religious beliefs in American politics and government.

I have been accused of not wanting to have contentious debate here. This is not the case. However, I will not subject myself to those who I experience as abusive. I made that decision many years ago and I am sticking with it.

In the meantime, I am meeting more atheists and people of varying POV with whom I think alliances can be formed, and that gives me hope.