Nathan
You quote Vananda Shiva as if she is someone who agrees with your point of view that atheism and consumerism are the same. I am a lapsed atheist (no holidays) and have moved to being an agnostic. Ms Shiva was referring to the mono culture of agriculture (Monsanto) not atheism. She is one of my all time heroes, as she advocates for the small farmers around the world.

No atheist have ever started a war, pogrom, or ethnic cleansing. Most mass slaughter is done in the name of religion. Religion is fine if you want to follow the teachings of this or that leader, however you probably need to talk to a few of the atheists I know, to find out what they believe and why they are turned of by religion in general.
Chris

"No atheist ever started a war"..except the atheist Bolsheviks and men from Mao of nuclear overkill.
",. they are big on criticising religious sects because religion signals stability, tradition and cultural diversity,."
I need a drink . 2.

AJ Philips,

Pescatarianism:
"One whose diet includes fish but no other meat"

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pescatarian

<<I don’t know of any anti-theists who aim to prove that religion is a false concept, though. The concept of religion exists, that’s just a fact>>

But that does not mean, that myself as a vegetarian, I have to accept Pescatarianism, (as a fact) for example just because some have accepted this type of diet and/or lifestyle.

In fact no vegetarian would consider this type of diet to be vegetarian at all. It is against the basic principle of being a vegetarian.

So (in that context) there are people who do refuse to accept various religions in Australia and these religions are quite well known.

<<many atheists, do have a view of hate (towards religion)>>

Not perhaps, the simple answer is yes. I have been told stories of hatred directly from others and seen such activity in public.

<<I don’t think anyone denies others “the basic elements of freedom of choice” (whatever they are).<<

Yes, they do. When atheists try to prove a point, endlessly, life is made very difficult for some (who are religious) to try and uphold their religious and/or spiritual elements as part of their life. For someone who may be an atheist though for example, they can "maintain virtues and get to be freethinkers." That is a lot easier.

Nicknamenick
The two you mention were both clinical psychopaths and used the religious repression of the time to motivate followers. If someone is enslaving you, would you not tend fight back given the chance. In those situations it was the behavior of the enslaves not the Atheist belief, that bought about the massacres.
Chris

Nathan
When you are faced with someone who has a different belief, you simply say you agree to differ.I can tell that for the five years I lived in the US, it was down right dangerous to announce you were an atheist.
It is not personal belief that is the problem, it is the behavior of the follower, which has nothing to do with the religion.
Chris

NathanJ,

What do you think it means to accept something as a fact?

<<But that does not mean, that myself as a vegetarian, I have to accept Pescetarianism, (as a fact) for example just because some have accepted this type of diet and/or lifestyle.>>

If you agree that there is a diet in which the only meat eaten is fish, and that some people have such a diet, then you agree that pescetarianism exists as a concept/phenomenon. You might think it’s stupid or less morally righteous, but you accept that it is a thing. There is no way around that.

<<In fact no vegetarian would consider this type of diet to be vegetarian at all. It is against the basic principle of being a vegetarian.>>

Right, but that’s not the same as denying that it exists.

<<I have been told stories of hatred directly from others and seen such activity in public.>>

I’m sure you have, but to portray this as standard atheist behaviour is inaccurate and suggests that you are confused as to what an atheist is.

<<When atheists try to prove a point, endlessly, life is made very difficult for some (who are religious) to try and uphold their religious and/or spiritual elements as part of their life.>>

Difficult in what way? Difficult to maintain delusional beliefs perhaps. That would be the purpose of endlessly discrediting religious claims, I’m guessing.

What about atheists’ right to speak out against poisonous belief systems that produce real harm to people?

To portray criticism of religious beliefs as an encroachment on one’s right to believe is ludicrous and is manifest of the offence that religions perceive in not being able to control everything unchallenged.

<<For someone who may be an atheist though for example, they can "maintain virtues and get to be freethinkers." That is a lot easier.>>

I’m not sure what this is supposed to mean. Do you mean “through example”? That wouldn’t have done much for me when I was a Christian. I wish someone had challenged my beliefs earlier. My life could have turned out very differently.