Every religious follower disbelieves in and criticizes every religion besides the one he worships. That's why we have so many religions today. Entrepreneurial people throughout history who broke out of their religions because they disagreed with them, or just thought they could do better for themselves, founded their own religious systems for various reasons, and then continued criticizing everybody else. "Hey, have a drink in my bar, buddy, it's much bigger and better than the one next door. And we even have virgins for the patrons who die! No? Well, then go to hell!"
In a sense, if you believe in something different than the next guy (if he's truly religious), you are an atheist to him. You believe in something that - according to him - doesn't exist.
I'm entrepreneurial myself, but I'd feel bad about establishing my own church/bar just to gain tax exemptions and profit from people who don't know better, or who are just plain alcoholics. That's not criticism, it's common sense and decency. Anyone who feels offended at this probably believes in one god or another. Atheists follow the evidence. It's an effective and pretty nice way of doing things.
In a sense, if you believe in something different than the next guy (if he's truly religious), you are an atheist to him. You believe in something that - according to him - doesn't exist.
I'm entrepreneurial myself, but I'd feel bad about establishing my own church/bar just to gain tax exemptions and profit from people who don't know better, or who are just plain alcoholics. That's not criticism, it's common sense and decency. Anyone who feels offended at this probably believes in one god or another. Atheists follow the evidence. It's an effective and pretty nice way of doing things.
