How can Christians and Atheist respect each other's beliefs?

[Jenny A]

I don't mean to be a "hippie" about this. But I was geniunely wondering:

I'm a Christian and I don't force my beliefs onto anyone. I used to be athiest then agnostic, and when I picked up Christianity again, I came to terms that people should be able to believe whatever they want as long as their beliefs aren't cultivating hatred towards another human being.

I also have many athiest, agnostic, and a few muslim friends. They are all awesome individuals, and we find ourselves in debates and disagreements about worldviews, but at the end of the day we just agree to disagree, and respect each other as fellow human beings.

I am also very aware of the "Christianity complex". Christians who feel the need to tell people that they are all going to hell and that they need to "turn from their sins". Yea, I get it, it annoys me too. But I have also been insulted by atheist individuals (luckily I'm pretty laid-back so I tend to shrug it off and laugh at myself if possible).

In conclusion my question is kind of a two-sided question:

Do you think it is possible for Christians and Athiest to come to terms with their differences? And if so, or if not, what do you think it would take to make something like that happen?

This is complicated. I respect many, many Christians, many Jews, and a few Muslims and a few Buddhists not to mention at least one Hindu as human beings. The percentages roughly mirror the numbers of such people I know. There are also few atheists I do not respect. That part is mostly simple.

The problem is respecting their religious beliefs. When those beliefs are represented to me as "The Bible (or the Koran, or the Pope) said so and I believe it," I find I cannot respect that position. Nor can I respect religious beliefs decked out as scientific ones, or the refusal to consider the historical evidence when looking at religious texts and traditions. Some beliefs I simply cannot take overly seriously.

It isn't necessarily a problem I have with religion. There are a whole raft of conspiracy theories I can't take seriously either. It's not the conclusions, it's the sloppy/dishonest thinking that gets me.

While I can respect people's faith based on their own personal experience/feeling of inner truth, I cannot take them seriously if they persist in thinking that such experiences should convince anyone else.

Finally I have no respect for the views of religious persons who insist that everyone believes in god and that atheists are merely in denial.