Personally I choose a live and let life stance. I won't force my disbelief on you if you don't try to force your belief on me.
There are so many out there who are better at it than I would be so why bother?
Toss out a babble quote that refutes whatever they are claiming, walk away......
Maybe they will have to rethink?
It's like trying to talk to trump people. Nothing you can say registers with them.
Yes I am with that opinion. However, both in Australia and the US I have noticed that one can have high profile politicians/leaders who are religious and I worry that their policies are often perhaps too often informed by the religious beliefs. I like to keep that in check at least, not trying to change their beliefs but making sure that they are not forcing or urging changes to things which are really a consequence of their religious belief system but which are not relevant to my agnostic/atheist world.
For example Same Sex Marriage!! there was a big debate about it recently in Australia and the final vote went with allowing same sex marriages. But many religious people didn't want it!
So being branded immoral, unable to tell the difference to between right and wrong, ethically void, spiritually dead have no effect on you? A country on the verge of Theocracy doesn't bother you?
I quote again Ms. Green: “There was a time when religion ruled the world. It is known as the Dark Ages.”
Because they're beliefs, people are going to hang on to them regardless of the facts. That's just the way beliefs work. However, I think that it's imperative that begin to point out every lie "as a lie." It probably won't do much good to get into a reasoned debate since they're not interested in facts, but it is important to simply call it a lie... We're at a point where lies need to be called out immediately and quickly. If nothing else, we can at least narrow the places where they and their lies can hang out.
I'd like to have a live and let live philosophy. But how can we really think that an approach of don't cram your religion down my throat and I won't cram my disbelief down yours, will really work? No matter where you look, religion pervades our government, law, social spaces, and school systems. Religion has been woven into the fabric of our lives. Ignoring it isn't the answer.
It IS our job to vote, protest, or lobby against those circumstances.
I am thinking more and more that this is less important. It wastes a lot of energy and the religious ideas will show themselves to be wrong without us interfering. Unfortunately some believers will not find out the truth until they are dead when of course they will not feel anything. Instead of worrying about them get them on a path to reason and logic by suggesting that they join this site and find the truth. This is important while there is still time to make sure their loved ones can exchange love as much as possible. You cannot force them but I have faith than people kind is a collection of potentially reasonable animals.