The vast majority of people who claim to be “atheist” merely don’t realize that what they worship - be it rocks and minerals, or The Universe, or Climate Change, or Karl Marx - are religions in all but name. The most vocal atheists are the most fiercely religious zealots you will ever meet.

@ryan

I agree on the conclusion (atheists are religion), not so much on the why (the things they revere).

I would argue they are a faith based religion because atheism implies certainty or strong conviction towards the lack of a god. Since god is not falsifiable it requires the same amount of faith to claim he is real as it takes to claim he isnt. Therefore atheists are faith based. Only an agnostic, someone who makes no assertions about a god's existence, can truly claim a non-faith based opinion.

@freemo @ryan Surely the burden of proof is with someone who claims something? To question a claim without any proof whatsoever isn't really indicating someone is a zealot. No?

@m As @freemo points out, it is the agnostic who is questioning. The atheist who insists that "God does not exist" is indeed making a claim.