Of course you just described my NATIONAL leadership career path of 38 years....American Atheists FFRF AMERICANS UNITED AMERICAN HUMANISTS all work locally and across USA....often they employ a local ACLU attourney who may have instant BAR ASSOCIATION court affiliation but many such groups have staff lawyers.....involvement might include attending local government meetings school committees or telephoning writing to news media to undo the damage done by criminal theocrats....you could volunteer to be an escort at Planned PARENTHOOD or local health clinics victimized by religious fanatics....call me 843 926 1750 if you'd like some referrals BRAINSTORMING or have questions....especially how to stay safe from religious theocratic retaliation against you and those you involve with....Larry Carter Center....been to US Sup Ct and numerous litigation battles since 1978

You can always check out the American Humanist Association or American Atheists. Both organization do awesome work in that area. Both are working to combat Project Blitz which is responsible for a lot of the current push for religion in schools and other scary things in the various state governments.

In the US anyway it would be advocating for what we already have. There might be minor threats and infractions from time to time and it is a worthy cause to guard against those infractions—challenge them in court perhaps. The ACLU is well established and would be a great venue in that regard.

It is not a black and white world. Judges have to balance the various conflicting elements of each case and make compromises. It is impossible to keep religion totally out of government and vice versa. It is enough that government not make laws regarding the establishment of a religion.

Yes and no. I don't take up atheism as a cause. Some people do, and I have no problem with that. But I'd rather focus on causes with a multicultural approach.

For example, I am a member of both my local humanist association and on the board of directors at my local YMCA. This is not a problem for me because religion is seldom discussed. For a while I wanted to help address the local homelessness problem, but every group I know of makes proselytizing a major goal of theirs. I'm currently building a nonprofit education company and making sure its board of directors has is as diverse as the population (having atheist, Christian, Muslim, and Jewish members).

That being said, I do address issues involving separation of church and state. I know Dan Barker (president of Freedom from Religion) and Mandissa Thomas (president of Black Nonbelievers, Inc.) and when government officials try to force religion on others, I protest.

For me, saying I'm atheist is like saying I'm bald. As long as bald people are allowed to live their lives freely, I focus on other issues.