Open, honestly, and sincerely. Be as interested in the views of the atheist as you want them to be interested in your views. Share instead of preach. Imagine how you would want to be treated by a missionary from a religion you don’t belong to. Most of all, just be cool and understanding.
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We didn’t care what it may have been like, we only cared that fellow students were allowed the freedom of their beliefs (as enshrined in law, BTW).
Yeah, logical consistency has never been their strong suit.
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Scenario #1: Maybe…but does it go to the level of being “illegal”, or is it just “annoying”? Need more data.
Scenario #2: Can you evangelize or proselytize a “lack of any belief”? I’m not sure that’s even technically possible, without it descending to not so much pushing “lack of belief”, as it could be construed as “trash talking” somebodies actual belief.
“Public” prayer can include a wide range of possible scenarios. To what extent is there pressure to participate, versus it merely expressing the views of the speaker? Is the objection just “that’s not my religion” or is there a reason to be concerned about the public good? I would not mind if a local Islamic group offered to pray for good governance at a town council meeting, but would object to an Islamic State imman being given a public forum to call for jihad. Some years back, I encountered a news story where someone had invited an atheist for the role usually played by some religious figure in praying for the city council meeting. Rather than giving a secular admonition to govern well, however, the speaker wasted his time with an anti-religious rant. A similar invocation by a religious figure would have been equally inappropriate.
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I think recruitment efforts/sales pitches have their place in some contexts and are inappropriate in others. Evangelists of any stripe need to respect people’s boundaries and people’s “no thank you,” which would include no soliciting signs and the social engagement policies that govern public spaces. If you aren’t allowed to pass out fliers in a specific park for a bar or a museum, you aren’t allowed to pass out fliers for heaven either.
On social media and discussion forums I think it is an interesting question to consider what is trolling and what is simply promoting or sharing a viewpoint. Most forums or interest group boards have guidelines and moderation and the level of pushback from the group identity norms that is expected and tolerated varies widely. If a group is formed as a support group for people who have a similar experience and social location, I think it is really peak jackassery to intentionally disrupt the supportive environment by debating or challenging their basic values and beliefs or trying to undermine their experiences. So you are a troll who should be blocked if you go into a group of women discussing misogyny and sexual harassment in the workplace to evangelize about men’s rights and the dangers of believing women. That wasn’t a topic up for debate. Similarly, if I am on Threads talking about nerdy aspects of Bible scholarship with other Christians and some Jesus mythicist atheist tries to join the conversation to proselytize, I just block them as a troll.
But there are obviously places on the internet intentionally designed for exchanging ideas, debating questions, and examining evidence. I still think it is trollish for people to engage in these places with the main goal of destabilizing, disregulating, or “owning” other people. You can think you have good answers and want to convince other people to accept what you think is right and good and still approach other people with a posture of empathy and curiosity. Trolls and harassers of any persuasion tend to lack both empathy and curiosity. It seems that they make their own insecurity and constant need for validation and dopamine hits a justification for intentionally making other people uncomfortable. Which is immature, selfish, and rude, so they deserve negative social repercussions for it.
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