It would be difficult to find conservative Christians, and perhaps even Christians generally, who don't mischaracterize atheism as a belief or a religion. It's probably the most common misrepresentation out there and is the most fundamental misunderstanding of atheism possible.
How do you respond to that when you encounter it -- and you definitely encounter it if you discuss atheism at all.
A forum member writes:
One misconception that I have seen more than a few people hold about atheism, is that it is a "religion" or a "belief" system. While I wish I could claim to have been the author of two of the more pithy rebuttals to these sort of claims, my favorite rejoinders are "atheism is a religion in the same way NOT collecting stamps is a hobby" or "atheism is a belief system the same way bald is a hair style".
There is also the misconception that atheists do not have beliefs. Atheist hold a multitude of beliefs, many of them highly practical. When I get on to a bus, I believe I will arrive at my stop eventually. When I wake up in the morning, I believe that gravity will still be busy doing its thing, and so on.
What I, and most other atheists simply do not believe is the existence of a supernatural being(s) as the "explanation" for the existence of the observable universe, or for the myriad observable phenomenon within it.
You can't have a conversation with someone about atheism if they don't understand what atheism is and a person cannot understand what atheism is if they insist on characterizing it as a religion or a belief system. In some cases, it's an honest misunderstanding -- but not always. In many cases people just don't want to accept the truth on any level.
It's probably no coincidence that conservative Christians are also in denial about things like evolution, climate change, homosexuality, the nature of ideology and belief formation, etc.
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