Very true - atheist is suffering the same problem as agnosticism in that it is being misrepresented. Atheism simply means you don't believe a God or gods exist. But it is being used to mean that you believe a God or gods doesn't exist, and while the two overlap, they are different things.
I don't believe Sasquach exists. However, I am also well aware that there are still many animals that we have not yet identified, as well as identified animals living in places we didn't realize or thought they'd gone extinct. So I am open to the possibility that Sasquach exists, and I'm not going to tell a Sasquach-believer that they are idiots and there's no possible way Sasquach exists. But I am still not inclined to believe it myself, and in the absence of any real evidence or of any effect the possible-Sasquach has on my life, I'm not going to waste a lot of thought on it.
There are strong atheists who do believe that God/s does not exist, just like there are evangelist religious folks. But even in those cases, I strongly disagree that they are comparable to religious fundamentalists. Their attitudes might be, and people might find their debating techniques similarly abrasive, but faith and science are very different things. To say it's the same thing to adamantly defend science and spurn religion as to adamantly defend religion and spurn science is to imply that these are of equal consideration. They're not. It's like saying someone who is outspoken against systematic rape of women in the Congo is 'every bit as evangelist' as someone who is outspoken about why we should accept NAMBLA.
That sort of view is why we have this ridiculous push to have creationism taught in science class, and even scientists saying we should try to 'find common ground'. No we shouldn't, they're completely different things! Faith and science aren't in themselves incompatible concepts precisely because they are so different.
Notice how often religion attempts to use pseudo-science to back itself up? How often do you see science attempt to use religion to back itself up? "Look! Study of these rocks proves the earth is only 5000 years old!" vs "Look! In this passage, when people stone the infidel, the rocks all fall to earth. This proves gravity!"
I don't believe Sasquach exists. However, I am also well aware that there are still many animals that we have not yet identified, as well as identified animals living in places we didn't realize or thought they'd gone extinct. So I am open to the possibility that Sasquach exists, and I'm not going to tell a Sasquach-believer that they are idiots and there's no possible way Sasquach exists. But I am still not inclined to believe it myself, and in the absence of any real evidence or of any effect the possible-Sasquach has on my life, I'm not going to waste a lot of thought on it.
There are strong atheists who do believe that God/s does not exist, just like there are evangelist religious folks. But even in those cases, I strongly disagree that they are comparable to religious fundamentalists. Their attitudes might be, and people might find their debating techniques similarly abrasive, but faith and science are very different things. To say it's the same thing to adamantly defend science and spurn religion as to adamantly defend religion and spurn science is to imply that these are of equal consideration. They're not. It's like saying someone who is outspoken against systematic rape of women in the Congo is 'every bit as evangelist' as someone who is outspoken about why we should accept NAMBLA.
That sort of view is why we have this ridiculous push to have creationism taught in science class, and even scientists saying we should try to 'find common ground'. No we shouldn't, they're completely different things! Faith and science aren't in themselves incompatible concepts precisely because they are so different.
Notice how often religion attempts to use pseudo-science to back itself up? How often do you see science attempt to use religion to back itself up? "Look! Study of these rocks proves the earth is only 5000 years old!" vs "Look! In this passage, when people stone the infidel, the rocks all fall to earth. This proves gravity!"
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