My atheist group runs into this kind of resistance a little now and again. We're a fairly large bunch, and we like to do altruistic works within our community. We have a couple of pet charity organizations which we've "targeted" for our good works, the local women's shelter being one, and the food bank for another. We never mention what brings us together as a group, and we never advertise the fact. But invariably, someone will ask, "So what's your group?" By then, we're well into whatever we're doing: Cleaning the shelter, dropping off or passing out food or gift cards, raising money, etc., and simply reply, "Oh, atheists."
I guess a lot of religiously-oriented folks have the hardest time believing that atheists are intrinsically giving and charitable, as much as any other human beings. We enjoy helping for the sake of it, have no need to advertise our affiliation (though it frequently comes up) -- and enjoy the opportunity to gently educate our community in this way. We let the way others treat us stand as its own truth about intolerance and hatefulness. Mostly, people are just mildly surprised but remain very grateful. Once in awhile, we run into someone more like the woman cited in the article. Her problem, not ours. We won't stop doing what we do.
I guess a lot of religiously-oriented folks have the hardest time believing that atheists are intrinsically giving and charitable, as much as any other human beings. We enjoy helping for the sake of it, have no need to advertise our affiliation (though it frequently comes up) -- and enjoy the opportunity to gently educate our community in this way. We let the way others treat us stand as its own truth about intolerance and hatefulness. Mostly, people are just mildly surprised but remain very grateful. Once in awhile, we run into someone more like the woman cited in the article. Her problem, not ours. We won't stop doing what we do.
