That is a very interesting question, actually. Nikolai Velmirovic asked someone who questioned him: why does the right faith (Orthodoxy in this case) suffered so much througout the history? and he answered: "For everyone to recognize the right faith when they see it, for everyone to see that our Church is the true Church and neither the gates of Hell will destroy it, and for it to remain strong no matter the environment!" and that is true, look at the West of Europe, such a freedom of religion they have and they will end up destroying themselves, the Vatican, the roman-catholic church controled Europe for 1000 years almost and now it's falling apart alone with their crisis of faith, with their scandals (it's not like just they have scandals and crisises, but just to mention) and so many other things, not to mention the protestant split and continous splitting today, the protestants can't even group themselves to remain strong, they are just like solitary arrows flying in the wind, but our Church is a full package of arrows in the back of Christ (what an example, lol). Romania has suffered with our christianity since it began, first because of the roman-catholics and the hungarians, they did atrocities to the Orthodox Church, like considering a "tolerated faith" and giving everyone who converts to catholicism money and lands, and we still survived. Then the Otoman empire, and when we thought we were fine, atheism came. The results? Romania is the most faithful country in Europe and one of the most faithful countries among the world (99% according to Wikipedia, and trust me, it's true), the churches in sunday are completely full, people believe in God and the Church is the most trusted institution in the country, atheism didn't make us suffer, it just helped new Saints to come out and new confessors of faith in the prisons to speak for the faith to the world, atheism didn't win. Christ did, just read about the saints of the prisons and what happened in Romania to christians during the Soviets, you will freak out... Atheism to me is a blindfold, something you willingly put on your eyes and say: "There is no God, there is no devil, there is no judgement, I can do whatever I want, those who say God exists are liars, I have the truth and they are stupid...", but the truth is that it is the most horrendous thing, someone to raise their punch to their Creator, to insult Him, to say He doesn't exist and to say His Word is false, His prophets are liars and the Church is a corrupted bulding run by fools. Look at the patience God has with us...
I was an atheist, but I was only a child (I was an atheist from 13 years to 17) and it was out of ignorance, I didn't read the Bible and I was full of prejudice, but it was then that God gave me faith and let me to the right path, I started reading the Bible and every word it had in it made my faith grow, as every raindrop calms the thirst of the earth after it falls in it, and then I discovered the Bible as being the most beautiful book in this world, and the One behind it, even more. I don't regret being an "atheist", because if God didn't allow me to be an atheist I couldn't have been an orthodox again, I couldn't have fortified my faith like this.