Religion is primarily a socioeconomic solution for individuals and families that live in rural and economically depressed (rural or urban) areas. Churches in these areas, are the center of social life as well as the primary means (outside of family) of socioeconomic support. Much of the desperation and suffering that people living below or near the poverty line is alleviated simply by adhering to local church membership and identifying with the religious group. The fact of the matter is that these churches do more to alleviate suffering, social alienation and poverty than any government organization does, and what these churches ask for in return is very, very small in comparison to what they provide. These benefits trickle down to successive generations, since a given family's social support relies almost entirely on church infrastructure, cementing the bond between them.

What I want to know is, based on what sociologists, anthropologists and theologists know about the socioeconomic niche of the church ecology, why I do not hear about atheist organizations allying with either the government or secular organizations to compete with churches to provide successive generations of social support to families and individuals who have no other recourse? After all, why should one who has been say, a Southern Baptist their entire life, married a Baptist, belongs to a Baptist family, has only Baptist friends and depends on the local church to support these social ties and alleviate socioeconomic distress listen to a white, middle-upper class 'big-A' Atheist about the evils of religion and the importance of being a freethinker? The Atheist isn't providing anything of value to them, because their entire social support structure is tied to the Southern Baptist church she's been a part of since birth.

How does the broader atheist movement reconcile their detachment from the socioeconomic realities of religious belief and their desire for broader acceptance? What is being done in terms out outreach to other classes, races and communities to break the cycle of dependence on church life as a center of social identity? I know that many atheists make donations to secular organizations, but the per-capita contribution is extremely small, and the absolute numbers barely register on the radar of all but the smallest charities. It's not a very pretty picture, overall.

Isn't it about time we started really talking about atheism's role as an alternative to church life and growing its footprint in economically vulnerable areas?