A Small Census

[genkaus]

To become an atheist obviously is one of the most important decisions that people make in their whole life, that will vastly affect the way that they see their responsibilities to others and the role they have in the world, which virtually every society in history has considered to be the most important part of being human.

Wrong on both counts. Your society may have seen it as such, not mine. Further, as I said earlier, the philosophical outlook that leads them to atheism is usually already in place prior to someone becoming an atheist. It is that philosophical outlook that determined what they see their responsibilities as and that remains unchanged upon being an atheist.

Do you really think that atheism has only "a small" effect on peoples understanding of the world?

Yes.

I would guess that this is common in people who do not emphasize daily practice and integrate their worldview in what they do, and who do not make serious efforts to ensure that their morality is always adhered to.

Ridiculous. Those are the principles I follow everyday. And I know for a fact that my final switch to atheism did not make a difference in my beliefs regarding morality.

Obviously the decision to reject God as a justifying principle for morality is one of the most important aspects of atheism, whether it directly specifies an understanding of morality or not.

Once more, ridiculous. Rejecting god is only required to justify rejecting your religious morality. All the moralities I reject form an insignificant aspect of my daily life. What is significant is the morality I do accept and live by which is not detemined by my atheism, i.e. what I don't believe in, but the rest of my philosophical outlook, i.e. what I do believe in.