Some liberal and moderate Christians don't like it when atheists are critical of Christianity, or even of religion and theism generally. Some dislike atheists' criticism so much, in fact, that they appear intent on imposing a litmus test on atheists: cease speaking your mind about religious theism and desist from arguing for people to give up religious theism or we won't make common cause with you on any political issues that are unrelated to religion, theism, or Christianity.
Few Christians state this outright and in so many words, but the message is clear: atheists must "earn" their place at the table with Christians through deferential behavior. They do not deserve an equal voice, an equal role, or a chance to provide a contribution simply because they are fellow human beings. What should be an open table for all citizens thus becomes a Christian table — a table controlled and dominated by Christians for their own benefit, not for the benefit of the general public.
Are Atheists to Blame?
Even worse, such Christians act like it's atheists who are the cause of any political breakdown. It's never a problem for these Christians to work with other groups they disagree with on other issues. For example, I've never seen a liberal Christian refuse to work on environmental issues with a Muslim who is critical of legal abortion, or with a Jew who denies that Jesus was the Messiah. As usual, it's only atheists who criticize religion that are a problem.
They may say, for example, that if an atheist thinks Christians are "delusional" or "irrational" for believing in gods, then how could they see Christians as trustworthy allies? In nearly every instance, though, you'll see that Christians are the ones who don't consider the atheists trustworthy allies — not because atheism is irrational, but because the atheists have dared to be open about their opinions. I've yet to see an atheist say that because religion or theism is irrational, then it's not worth working with Christians on political issues.
Atheists are More Tolerant than Christians
The truth is, though, that many atheists have long regarded religious, theistic beliefs as absurd, ridiculous, irrational, and even delusional — but that has rarely, if ever, stopped them from working politically with Christians or other religious theists. Why should it? Many atheists also think belief in things like astrology, psychics, and reincarnation are equally absurd but that doesn't stop them from working with believers in such things on unrelated political matters.
Atheists don't ask you if you read the astrology column every morning before joining you in a march against war, or if you believe in psychics before joining you in a march to support the separation of church and state. Atheists don't ask you if you believe in alien abductions before working with you to defend the right to abortion, or if you go to church every week before helping you fight for improved access to better health care. Why should they?
Atheists "tolerate" such irrational beliefs and more in that they don't seek to suppress them, but they don't necessarily "tolerate" them by being sympathetic, indulgent, or refrain from opposing them if they become an issue. Why should they? It's bad enough when Christians demand or expect such tolerance, but it's far worse to refuse to work with atheists without it.
Which is a more genuine expression of intolerance: criticizing a person's belief or refusing to work with them because of that belief? The latter is genuine intolerance, which means that while Christians are accusing atheists of being intolerant for mere ideological criticism, in reality atheists are more tolerant than Christians. Atheists aren't trying to force Christians to pay a political price for their beliefs by denying them a voice at the table when it comes to separate political issues yet Christians are trying to do exactly that to atheists.
Christians Imposing Double Standards on Atheists
It is significant that atheists are on the receiving end of a litmus test here which liberal and moderate Christians are not imposing on anyone else. These Christians don't ask what a person thinks about health insurance reform in order to work with them on church/state separation, nor do they ask what a person thinks about the war in Iraq before being willing to work with them on abortion. They will work with other religious theists on one issue even if they are vociferous opponents on other issues, including religious issues. This is only to be expected because politics means shifting alliances, where allies one day are opponents the next.
There's no political reason to insist that atheists don't deserve to have a place alongside Christians on secular, political matters unless they behave more deferentially towards Christians on religious matters. This attitude is more plausibly a product of anti-atheist bigotry: it's not disagreement and opposition that Christians mind, it's the fact that an atheist is open and unapologetic about their rejection of religion, religious beliefs, and theism. This is what condemns them to the outer darkness in Christian theology; liberal and moderate Christians are also trying to condemn atheists to the outer darkness of political activism as well.
Only Deferential Atheists Wanted
Atheists are the ones being accused of intolerance by these same Christians, but the intolerance is theirs alone. Even if atheists' criticisms of religious theism are completely unrelated to the political issues at hand, Christians are signaling that they will not tolerate the presence, assistance, or support of those atheists. Christians say that they want communication and understanding, not distrust and division, but only on their own terms and in ways that ensure their own beliefs won't be challenged. It's as if George W. Bush opened up a school on how to be a uniter rather than a divider and large numbers of liberal and moderate Christians signed up for the full package.
If anything is going to prevent atheists and theists from working together on common political causes, it will be the intolerance of Christians who won't work with people they suspect don't esteem their religion and who can't accept the fact that their religious beliefs don't merit automatic deference. That would be a shame, but it's not a reason for atheists to refrain from being critical of religion. If someone needs me to validate their beliefs by treating those beliefs with deference, then they need to look inward to better understand why they aren't comfortable with those beliefs on their own.
