Anti-theism and anti-religion

[Esquilax]

I'm not anti-theist, anti-religion or even atheist, though I'm often accused of each.

In my opinion, these are buzzwords used to invalidate pressing a valid question about beliefs.

"I don't like the question: Therefore you just don't like religious people."

Or more often:

"I don't have an answer for that question without invoking apologetics; therefore you're just one of those rabid militant types intolerant of my beliefs."

This exactly. It's most often deployed as a way to redirect the conversation, so that we're no longer even evaluating whether or not the contention the atheist is making is a valid one, but instead we're now talking about what must be wrong with the atheist, that he's even daring to ask the question in the first place. It's attack dog apologetics, a passive aggressive ad hominem.

"I can't possibly be wrong! There must be something wrong with you as a person, if you disagree with me!"