Recently a Christian guy got upset and accused me of “pushing” my atheism on others. But all I was doing was speaking to someone else, very cordially and reasonably about atheist societies in Europe that have lower crime rates and general better standards of living than very religious America. Hardly “pushing” my view, and the guy I was talking to was a willing participant. But this is the view of many dogmatic people (not only religious people but often them), that any contrary point or challenge to their belief is a personal attack. And what follows is usually an emotional reaction. This is not the right way to go about things. Powerful ideas should be challenged, including religion and atheism. And just talking about an issue is not automatically an assault. For me, I don’t mind when religious people want to talk to me about their faith or tell me why atheism is wrong. or even try to convert me. As long as everyone can be respectful, it’s all good.

Dan Turner
DOC# 767569