New York City Atheists photo

¿Cómo se dice “atheism” en español?

New York City Atheists, New York’s chapter of American Atheists, wants to pose that question (the answer is ateísmo) in meetings aimed at the city’s Spanish-speaking population.

Conducting meetings in Spanish is the organization’s latest attempt to expand and garner publicity. The new meetings follow a campaign of advertising on city buses last July and television shows that run four times a week on the Manhattan Neighborhood Network, a public-access cable network. (The well-publicized atheist advertisements that appeared in subway stations in October were the work of an unrelated coalition of local groups that called itself the Big Apple Coalition of Reason in the advertisements.)

Ken Bronstein, the president of New York City Atheists, said he started the meetings because Spanish-speaking atheists asked for them.

Mr. Bronstein said he believed that Spanish speakers were receptive to an atheistic message despite their roots in Roman Catholicism and the growing hold of evangelical Protestantism. He said many of the people who attended the first two meetings, on Oct. 27 and Nov. 24, became disillusioned when their prayers did not help their home countries.

“Their prayers weren’t answered — they didn’t like organized religion,” Mr. Bronstein said. “A lot of them were turned off because the lack of progress, the lack of economic progress in their countries, the combination of the church and the state holding them back.”

Mr. Bronstein said that the meetings were still relatively small, with about 15 members attending, but that there were around 50 people on an e-mail list. “We’re going to bust out pretty quickly in attendance,” Mr. Bronstein said. “We think there’s a major group of nonbelievers, atheists, in this community.”

Mr. Bronstein, who does not speak Spanish, said the meetings were directed by Juan Castro, an atheist from the Dominican Republic and the author of “Una Cruzada por la Humanidad,” or “A Crusade for Humanity,” a book that critically examines the world’s religions in Spanish.

Mr. Castro said he became an outspoken atheist about seven years ago. Although he was raised Catholic, he has never been observant. “But I was from a family like everyone in my country who was Christian,” he said. “I always have my own thing, but I was quiet about it.”

Mr. Castro plans to expand the group through advertising in Spanish-language publications and television.

Christians in the area have not seemed too concerned, so far, by the atheists’ new outreach.

The Rev. Lorenzo Ato, assistant director for Hispanic media at the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York and the host of two Catholic-themed radio shows in Spanish, said atheism was rare among the Hispanic population.

“I do not believe atheism is widespread in the Spanish-speaking community in the city,” Father Ato wrote in an e-mail message. “I have not experienced any Hispanic within the city stating they are losing their faith in God or announce to me that they are atheists.”

Father Ato was unconcerned that the atheist group was concentrating on Spanish-speakers.

“I do not believe this group is problematic because, first, those who believe in God and those who do not believe in God can live in the same city without difficulty,” Father Ato explained. “Since the beginning of time, atheists have been in existence, and the teachings of the church is to pray for them, respect them and live in peace, because we share the same dignity and the same esteem for humanity.”

Father Ato added that he thought the group might even partner with the church in doing good works. “I feel we can work together and provide a partnership in order to improve society,” Father Ato wrote.

Mr. Castro just wants to make sure that Spanish speakers in New York consider his point of view. “I’m trying to open the eyes,” Mr. Castro said.