"Damn (snark), did God piss in your cheerios or something? Isn't this putting the cart before the horse? People turn to religion as an answer to questions they have about their lives; don't you think that might be why those who suffer the most would be more prone to turn to religious answers?
What good does railing on people's religious views do? All you're going to do is alienate them. I, personally, am really uncomfortable with the degree to which my personal religious views are attacked in radical circles.
Here's a hint to all of you atheists: one, it's not your damn business what I believe; two, you might do yourself a favor by relating to religious people (the vast majority of the people on this planet) in a language they understand rather than being hostile towards their viewpoints. This does not mean you must believe Jesus is going to return from the dead and so on, it just means that there is already a set of morals and understandings which, for the most part, are compatible with views we might hold (if not necessarily going as far), for example "do unto others...", and might facilitate communication."
Atheist declarations often seem to be taken as "personal vendettas" against God; but these same folks would hardly claim that critical articles against Bush or the capitalist system amounted to "personal vendettas" [though that would probably happen on a right wing forum]. There's always an attempt to psychologize criticism as a "personal vendetta" [and thus dismissable as a personal grievance rather than a valid social critique] no matter the side that's being argued. But the whole "God thing" seems to create rifts in even folks I thought were solidly on the left.
-B.