The New Atheists of the Philippines Their style is less Richard Dawkins, more Christian missionary.

[Heddi]

https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2017/03/new-atheists-philippines/518175/

As one of two women running a community project to provide the children of Alabang with education and food, Ferrer wants to help the local youth—but she also has her own agenda. She’s a volunteer for Humanist Alliance Philippines, International (HAPI), one of three secular organizations trying to gain a foothold in Filipino society. Their weekend “schools” and food programs are part of a concerted effort by atheists to promote secular, humanist values in a society dominated by religion.

“I got this idea from the Baptist Church,” Ferrer told me, with a smile suggesting she appreciated the irony of borrowing from the missionary playbook. “They’re helping the community and, while helping, they’re also spreading the gospel. So as humanists, if they can do it, why can’t we?”

HAPI volunteers believe that challenging religion is a necessary prerequisite for developing Filipino society and ending its stark economic inequality.

“Advancement comes through science, technology, and social justice,” Ferrer said. “The country has a lot of potential—people just need to change their minds. You can't rely on a deity to get yourself out of poverty, you have to do it yourself.”


...
“I felt uneasy,” she said. “There was a pastor that would regularly come to school to show very young children in kindergarten films about hell. I believe that is one of the reasons why people stay in that religion, because of the fear of going to hell.”
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In the heavily Christian society of the Philippines, nonbelievers meet with little respect, and they sometimes become targets of open hostility—as the founder of HAPI knows first-hand. Marissa Torres Langseth, known as “Miss M” among volunteers, now lives in the United States. But she is a stalwart of the Philippines’ fledgling atheist movement, having previously set up the Philippine Atheists and Agnostics Society (PATAS) before leaving to start HAPI.

When Langseth first started this work, she received torrents of abuse online, including being called “a whore” and the “Bride of Satan,” she told me. “That’s how Filipinos think. They view atheists as Satanists: somebody who believes in demons and evil, who has no moral values and who doesn’t have any meaning in life.”

HAPI’s work, though it’s spread across different parts of the country, still operates on a relatively small scale. The vast majority of Filipinos haven’t heard of “Miss M,” and despite claims that the atheist movement is growing, there are no truly high-profile Filipino atheists forcing themselves into the public eye and battling religious belief on the national stage.

Even though most of the new atheists of the Philippines look up to the New Atheists of the West as role models, there is no Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, or Sam Harris here. Filipino atheists I’ve spoken to feel some trepidation about copying their style, in part because recent years have seen a backlash against these Western icons, with critics variously labelling them as arrogant, simplistic, and overly aggressive in the way they talk about religion. Believing that this method of promoting atheism would most likely be counterproductive, Filipinos have decided to tread a little more carefully.
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Speaking at machine-gun pace, Tani explained the purpose of the Freethinkers. “We don’t promote atheism, but what we do promote are the ideas that would make atheists feel safe in a country.” His aim, he said, is to make sure that Filipinos who are questioning their beliefs realize they are not alone. “More than a handful of times, there will be someone who will attend a meet-up and say: ‘If you guys did not exist, I would have killed myself a long time ago.’”

[guillaumeb]

1. Imagine that!!!

Who would think that the Dawkins style of talking down to people and trying to humiliate them might not be the best way to win converts to the atheistic belief.

[Heddi]

2. it helps if you read the article

because that's not remotely what the people were talking about, or their reason for not emulating Dawkins' atheistic style.

[guillaumeb]

3. Having read the article, I commented on this part specifically:

Even though most of the new atheists of the Philippines look up to the New Atheists of the West as role models, there is no Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, or Sam Harris here. Filipino atheists I’ve spoken to feel some trepidation about copying their style, in part because recent years have seen a backlash against these Western icons, with critics variously labelling them as arrogant, simplistic, and overly aggressive in the way they talk about religion. Believing that this method of promoting atheism would most likely be counterproductive, Filipinos have decided to tread a little more carefully.

I bolded the relevant parts of this paragraph. So if one combines the bolded parts with my comments...............