The danger of religion. .

[Polaris]

Actually, strictly speaking without adding any meaning to the word beyond what it actually means, atheists have killed and continue to kill the most people depending on the year (sometimes religious conflict* is responsible for more deaths in a certain year, sometimes secular strife in another year).

*The US and foreign intervention is responsible for the majority of the high-casualty religious wars though. Sure the Middle East was already a powder-keg full with pent-up tension and frustration, but the US is partially responsible (the USSR was the other instigator) for igniting the fuse.

Can I get some figures to back up what you just said?

Well in particular...2009 for sure when you had the end of the Sri Lankan Civil War (20,000 civilians alone killed) and the Mexican Drug War among regional conflicts in Africa. There were a couple other years in that period such as 2005, but I did not pay attention to Africa much during that period.

Now on atheists, the wars in the 20th century and the logical assertion that many who end up even in the religious wars weren't believers but forced to fight anyway. It's an assertion that atheists now use, that many in the past were forced for admit they believed for fear of being shunned by their peers or torture/death for not admitting they believed in the religion.

This is not to say at all that those who are religious did not kill because they killed in plenty, but that political and ethnic conflicts promoting more secular ideals were responsible for more deaths...though you can easily say that the 20th century was unique in the excessive amount of heavy weapons that were introduced that caused unimaginable death, destruction, and mayhem.