Door-to-door proselytizing by evangelical fundamentalist Christians strikes most atheists as pointless, at least in the sense that it is extremely unlikely to convert anybody. Whatever point it may have is probably more about strengthening the religious beliefs of those who do it than "saving souls." Bur regardless of why they do it, I suspect I have lots of company in preferring to see less of it. I consider it a nuisance, but I will acknowledge that some of the more extreme forms I have encountered irritate me more than that.
The combination of a "no soliciting" sign in my yard and an anti-proselytizing symbol in the window next to my front door has been very effective at deterring proselytizing Christians. I would say that it has reduced non-religious solicitation by at least 90% and Christian proselytizing by roughly 80%. What else could an atheist do to make it clear that he or she wants to be left alone by those wanting to spread the "good news" about their mind virus? A reader emailed me this picture of a welcome mat he had made, and I am quite jealous.
The only drawback I see with something like this is that it can't be seen from the street. That means that the purveyors of delusion will likely continue to leave their "literature" all over one's porch. But there is an upside to it not being visible from the street too. One's neighbors won't see it every time they drive by. For those of us living places where we are surrounded by evangelical fundamentalist Christians, that might not be a bad thing.
I do not expect to live long enough to see the end of Christian proselytizing; however, I have seen some progress here in Mississippi. I do not get nearly as many Southern Baptists at my door as I used to. It is not that there are any fewer of them around. Maybe they've just finally given up on me after all these years. Whatever the cause, I'll take it.
