It depends which religion, of course, but this seems a quixotic argument to take up.
But wrt Christianity it would be hard to argue that atheists have a leg up in the whole "comforting" category if the afterlife exists and is even 1/1000 as good as they think it will be.
And things atheists can do, like make the world a better place for future generations, the Christians can also do. So there is a real asymmetry here.
This seems like an argument we are doomed to lose. You could cut hairs and say "Well it depends what your preferences are". But that would just come off as disingenuous or blind. Sure, some people would rather be extinguished than eternally at peace and love. But that would just suggest they are deviant.
This is not an argument we are going to win with the Christians, and for good reason.
I also can speak from personal experience, when loved-ones die it is much easier to handle it psychologically thinking they are at eternal peace and able to see that I love them, versus the fact that are simply gone, period, and any issues we had unresolved are going to remain unresolved forever. The grief is much, much worse. I don't know how you can get around that (sure, you can talk about them, make scholarships in their name, etc, but the Christians can do that too).
We should accept that Christians have the upper hand when it comes to tales of the afterlife. The main problem with their view is that it is false.
http://secularoutpost.infidels.org/2012/05/do-atheists-concede-ground-of-death-too.html?showComment=1338556154022#c8371239871683979175
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