Shouldn't Atheists learn to accept religion?

[Thumpalumpacus]

I'm an atheist. I am different to Muslims.  And, again, not everyone with a religious belief is going around killing people, or forcing their religion down their throats. Some people genuinely just want to be left alone to believe what they believe.

and I'm not saying it's okay for religious people to impose their religion on others. That's not okay. That's unfair. I am saying that if you want them to respect the fact that you believe in no god, you have to respect the fact that they do believe in a god. And a lot of atheists online these days just aren't doing that.

I don't have to respect anything but the person him- or herself, and that only within the measure that they earn it. I certainly don't need to respect an unsupported belief. I don't go to religious websites and tell them that they are fools. I would like to be able to come here and enjoy the same peace of not having some jackass badgering me. When they refuse to extend to me the same courtesy I extend to them, why should I remain silent?

I treat others the way they treat me, and I sleep easy at night.

I don't care if they don't respect my lack of faith; as a matter of fact, having lived 35 years as an atheist in a religious country, I'm rather enured to their disrespect.

tl/dr: if you want me to respect you as a person, carry yourself respectfully. If you want me to respect your beliefs, make sure they're respectable. I will speak my mind either way, and leave the hand-wringing to you.

I will not apologize for my lack of faith, nor will I apologize for standing up for myself.

I'm just trying to make the point that religion as a whole, as a concept, is not inherently a bad thing and that the idea of it is not something that should be supressed.

I don't want to repress religion, I want to be left the hell alone by it. Maybe you should carry this message into a few churches before you lecture us here? I mean, I ain't trying to pass any laws banning this or that practice which offends me.

The central message of Christianity is supposed to be love.

Pity such a noble message landed upon such deaf ears, then.

Since we're going to talk about all world religions and the benefit they provide mankind, perhaps you might start by listing a few of those benefits which cannot be found otherwise?