Religious "moderates" and atheists

[Mudhammam]

Atheism =/= Stalinism

Neither is Extreme Religion =/= Religion.

Religion that isn't extreme, while I'm sure it exists, is basically just apathetic religion. If a person appreciates symbolism but feels no commitment to live out the symbols or to demand that others do...why even call it religion?

Neither do moderate religious types seem to have a problem condemning extremist religious ideologies and actions. Or have I missed the part where Westboro Baptist Church, the Ku Klux Klan and wholesale Biblical literalism, fundamentalism and/or Presuppositionalism has become predominantly celebrated in the Christian world?

Yes, you've missed that, as poll after poll demonstrates this fundamentalist wing makes up the majority of Christians in the US, to say nothing of Christianity or Islam in the rest of the world. And as I myself grew up in one such household, I'm quite aware that a great many of these people go on about their lives without an inkling of so-called moderation influencing their decisions, such as when it comes to indoctrinating children or voting like-minded fundamentalists into political office.

And no. Since atheism is simply the disbelief in gods, it is not committed to rational argument and evidence. Individual atheists (or theists) may be, but let's not kid ourselves that such is part of atheism. Even though I take atheism to be the most rational position on the existence of the divine, it's practically self-evident that people can come to the right view irrationally.

Of course, but let's also not kid ourselves that atheism is a disbelief just for the sake of disbelief.