"They said, 'She is a sinner. She's going to hell and she's going to burn forever,'" said 84-year-old Brigit Smith-Clarke. She said she heard two fellow residents say that about her because she founded Atheists Anonymous.

It is a group for the elderly residents at La Costa Glen who do not believe in God or just want to explore their options. It began with 16 members two years ago. Since then, their membership has grown to almost 100 seniors.

What has also grown is the backlash: the dirty stares, social isolation and the threatening phone calls. Smith-Clarke said people were calling her things such as "anti-Christ" and "Jew-lover."