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Prosthelytizing can be one of the more effective strategies for spreading a religion. This is especially true when the obligation to do so is a tenet of the religion. Consider the Gospel of Matthew: "Go to all the nations and make disciples. Baptize them and teach them my commands." Some religions make it a requirement that young men spend some time going out to make new converts.
How do we counteract this? My ethics do not allow the use of force to stop people from preaching their religions. Nor can I think of many ways to convince missionaries and others from spreading their evil ideas. But there are some things we can do.
We can stop giving preferential treatment to religions in our laws. Tax the property of churches just like we tax other properties. All other "non-profit" organizations pay taxes on the property they own, so why not churches? Why does this address the problem of prosthelytizing? Because the current preferential treatment frees up a lot of money for such work.
Note that I am not suggesting we punish the religious for their beliefs. We simply tax them the same as the rest of us. I do not get a property tax exemption because of my beliefs, so why should the churches? They benefit from the same public services (roads, water, police protection, etc) as every other organization and individual, and so it seems entirely fair that they help pay for these as well.
What else?
Discredit The Prosthelytizers
We can point out the many true stories of corruption of those who try to convert others, like the case where thousands of written prayers were submitted with money to an evangelical preacher, to be opened and prayed over. They were later discovered unopened in the garbage. These stories get little exposure in our media. We can perhaps change that, to reduce the impact these preachers have.
Don't Tolerate The Message
Another simple solution that may help, is to stop tolerating the nonsense of those who come to our doors or public places to spread their evil religious faith. If a man knocked on your door and wanted to promote a racist political party, you might let him know that his ideas are not welcome. Why then, when a religious person knocks - one who believes in a God that condones the slaughter of towns and whole races - are we so polite and unwilling to correct him?
I'm not suggesting attacking anyone. Attack the evil beliefs. The right person might even compassionately show the religious man or woman the error of their ways.
Missionaries For Reason
Another possible solution: Missionaries for reason could go out to spread the good news of love, reason and respect for human life. They may even have large gatherings like religious groups do, and collect donations to further the work. Unlike religious prosthelytizing, this would be about encouraging people to investigate the facts and think for themselves.
Continues here... Instilling Fear