Are Anti-theists really the "mean atheists?"

[robvalue]

We face the problem that even the word "atheist" is hugely misunderstood, and the church has put out damning propaganda against it. So many people genuinely think atheists are devil worshippers, people who hat God, or people out to try and destroy your beliefs etc.

So based on that, those people are going to think even worse of anti-theist, I guess. They may not actually of heard of the term though!

But I agree with everyone here, there's no reason at all that anti-theism has to be mean. I'm probably anti-theist by most definitions, but I only ever try and promote proper critical thinking and to point out problems with religion in an honest manner. There's always going to be people who have preconceptions about what words mean, but I don't think you should let that stop you. We are always free to educate anyone who misunderstands terms.