[tcberry]

I would suppose that many atheists see the state as the secular alternative to charity.

[malandrew]

And sadly, many atheists see it as a charity that others have a greater obligation to pay into than themselves.

i.e. "The government should replace charity, and only the millionaires and billionaires should be the ones paying for it".

I'm atheist myself, but I've definitely seen this reasoning make it easy for fellow atheists to explain away their lack of charity.