I think it takes a certain level of sophistication and maturity to be an atheist, a willingness to accept that meaning and purpose are entirely artificial, to take responsibility for the consequences of inventing meaning and purpose, a braveness to confront all ideas skeptically.
Some of my fellow atheists keep wanting to spread the enlightenment. They’re saying, “If only our educational system was better, there’d be more atheists and skeptics in the world.” Why? Why should we try to impose our way of thinking on the rest of world? Isn’t that exactly the sort of thing we accuse religion of? It’s my opinion that atheism is not for joiners. Atheism is voluntary and should only be arrived at with hard and careful thinking. Skepticism is not really enlightenment, it’s more like a method to find understanding. And frankly, some people are entirely able to function without this mode of thinking.
It’s not for everybody.