Atheist Group Holds First U.S. Meeting : Secularism: Umbrella association of freethinking skeptics will soften strident tone taken by others in the past.

In an era when many say religion is on the rebound, should dedicated atheists spend most of their time challenging religious beliefs or deal primarily with society’s problems as proud role models for the secular life?

That’s the debate before the Atheist Alliance at its first three-day national meeting that began Friday at Beverly Garland’s Holiday Inn.

Interviews with key leaders indicated that the alliance, an umbrella organization formed by nearly a dozen freethinking skeptical groups, will promote both missions. But they hope to do so without raising as many hackles as some non-believer groups have in the past.

“We don’t want to be obnoxious,” said Marie Castle of Minneapolis, a retired writer-editor who is co-president of the 3-year-old group.

“We are not into name-calling,” Castle said. “We want to engage in civil, rational discussion and have our views respected as part of the community.”

Such a path contrasts with the route followed by the nation’s best-known scrapper for atheism, Madalyn Murray O’Hair of Austin, Tex., founder of American Atheists.

In fact, most of the groups that came together to form the alliance are former chapters of American Atheists, which folded its national chapter system in recent years.

Alliance leaders said that O’Hair’s combative style was not always appealing even to fellow atheists.

Castle admitted, however, that the group picked the Easter weekend for its conference--as O’Hair’s group did for years--partly because “it tickles our fancy” to compete with the Christian holiday.

It is also practical, she added, because holiday hotel rates are lower and it’s an easier time for people to get off work.

Castle and the Alliance’s other co-president, engineer Christos Tzanetakos of Fort Pierce, Fla., both cited instances when the atheist body would need to challenge religious views that shape public debates on abortion, school prayer, world population and creationism.

“Religion was and still is a stumbling block to progress,” Tzanetakos said. “I would like to see more people in the scientific and intellectual communities express their opinions more openly.”

One of the strongest voices in the Alliance against spending much time assailing religion is Lee Baker of Toluca Lake, co-president of the host organization, the 500-member Atheists United based in Sherman Oaks.

“Nothing gets changed by criticism,” said Baker. “All you do is antagonize people.”

At the same time, “If it can be shown that the root cause of a problem in society is religiously based, then I’m in favor of exposing religious fallacies,” said Baker, citing as an example conservative biblical views that give men authority over women by virtue of their gender.

The convention is expecting between 150 and 200 registrants, who pick up their materials in the hotel’s Father Serra room, named after Junipero Serra, the Franciscan monk who established many of California’s early missions.

Aside from workshops with topics such as “Freethought Across the Centuries,” “Taxing the Churches,” “TV Production” and “Computer Power for Atheism,” a formal debate will be held at 5:30 p.m. today. The title: “Expose Religious Fallacies or Build a Secular Society?”

There appears to be one point of firm agreement among members of the Alliance chapters from San Francisco and Sacramento, from Houston, Philadelphia and India: They all wear the description atheist with pride.

A line across the top of Secular Nation, the Alliance magazine edited by Howard Kreisner of San Diego, reads: “The world is a better place because atheists are in it.”

Whereas another atheist group mails literature in plain, white envelopes, Secular Nation goes out uncovered for mail carriers and anyone else to see, Baker said.