(RNS) — P.Z. Myers’ Twitter bio reads, “godless liberal biologist.”

The avid atheist is far from alone in the cyber world. He has more than 7,700 followers who subscribe to his atheism- and evolution-themed Internet updates.

When Myers led about 300 like-minded evolutionists to the Creation Museum, thousands more followed along via the Internet, avidly anticipating each 140-character “tweet” about the Kentucky center, which renounces evolution in favor of a Bible-based view of natural history.

“It’s a very peculiar medium,” Myers said of Twitter. “I can also see that it is quite useful.”

Social networking sites and microblog hosts like Twitter are drawing atheists and agnostics out of seclusion and giving them a platform on which they can discuss and debate their religious beliefs — or lack thereof — with the world.

The online buzz surrounding the Creation Museum trip is just one example of how atheists are using the Internet to band together to form a virtual support network, and to provide information about atheism.

Blair Scott, national affiliate director for American Atheists, credits Twitter, Facebook, MySpace and Atheist Nexus — a social networking Web site exclusively for nonbelievers — with drumming up interest in his organization and the overall “free thought” movement.

Scott is responsible for maintaining American Atheists’ social networking accounts. He identified Twitter and MySpace as two particularly safe havens for “closet” atheists because users can adopt pseudonyms to mask their true identities.

“It’s a shame we have to do that in the first place,” Scott said, but he acknowledged that incognito atheists find comfort in online networks, and some eventually “come out” publicly once they’ve built up a body of allies on the Web.

In the last month, social networking sites attracted 14 new members to the Huntsville, Ala., chapter alone, said Scott, who also acts as American Atheists’ Alabama state director. He said the organization plans to track the effect of social networking on membership on a national level.

In America, a stigma lingers around the word “atheism.” Even atheists — those who admittedly do not believe in God — don’t like calling themselves atheists.

According to a study conducted by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, only 24 percent of nonbelievers in the U.S. actually call themselves atheists, while 35 percent don’t adopt a label, and 15 percent prefer being called “agnostic.”

“America is so far removed from where we want to be in terms of acceptance,” said Hemant Mehta, chairman of Secular Student Alliance’s board of directors and webmaster for FriendlyAtheist.com.

Mehta was among the 300 atheists who visited the Creation Museum with Myers and posted updates on Twitter and his blog. He said his Web site received more than 16,000 hits a few days after he blogged about his museum experience, and the number of followers he has on Twitter jumped by a couple hundred.

Twitter is tool a for understanding people’s experiences with atheism in different countries, Mehta said, and a convenient medium for exchanging brief, efficient messages, especially for atheists who don’t have the time or energy to commit to a full-blown blog.

“It’s exciting to learn that there are places in Europe that accept evolution, that there are de-baptism (ceremonies) that actually matter,” Mehta said of international atheism news made easily accessible though Twitter.

As the global exchange of ideas rapidly increases because of the Internet, one atheist has taken it upon himself to tutor other nonbelievers in effective use of Twitter. Adrian Hayter, a blogger from England, identifies tips for being a “successful atheist on Twitter” on his Web site AtheistBlogger.com.

Hayter encourages “tweeps” — people on Twitter — to show their own personality, post interesting updates that spark dialogue between both the religious and the non-religious.

Aside from promoting responsible and effective “tweeting” on his blog, Hayter uses Atheist Nexus and Skype, a free online video chat program, to participate in virtual meetings with other blogger-atheists from the U.S., Australia and Canada.

Although a number of atheists said their beliefs are becoming more widely accepted because of information and support made available on the Internet, they agree there are hurdles to overcome yet, especially in America.

Scott said his organization, American Atheists, continues to combat atheist stereotypes.

“We’re not devil worshippers,” Scott said. “We’re your next door neighbors, and you probably don’t even know it.”