Just a little rant:

[Chris.Roth]

I would suggest adopting a simple strategy.

Treat somebody the way they clearly want to be treated, regardless of whether they know you are an atheist or not, because this will achieve two things;

1. Wait, this guy is an atheist and he's nice... Maybe I'm wrong about athiesm.
   or
   
2. Wait, you're an atheist? I thought atheists were all nasty but you're not!
   

Sometimes allowing a person to come to a realisation can be infinitely more powerful than arguing a point (even absurd ones).

It's not always necessary for a non-believer to argue with a believer. If the believer cannot get over their own narrow-minded view of atheism by getting to know you it speaks volumes.

My friend, I completely agree with your assertion--and I did just that. By nature, I tend to treat human beings in social interaction equally. I really don't care what a friend believes in, as long as they're a good friend to me. (accept me for who I am.) However, when I am faced with someone who clearly will detest me simply because I say "well, no I happen to think none of the religions are true", I lose a little faith in humanity. Is religion required for us to survive? I think that's a really interesting question, considering we don't have many examples of humanity without religion. (waiting for someone to correct me on this, I wish someone would in a way.)