You bet your ass l am hostile. I could give a rat's ass what anyone believes, but when you start pushing your bullshit agenda into our laws and societal behavior you have crossed a line where l will most definitely get hostile. See!

All my friends are religious, I’m not in the least hostile to them. I think you are mistaken in thinking that animosity towards the doctrine, which the religious believe as true, is hostility towards the person. I think it’s fair game to decry and attack the institutions and the hierarchy of the churches in the same way that they attack the secular and try to portray those who don’t believe their creed as immoral and dangerous. I personally don’t care what individuals believe or where they worship, as long as they allow me the same courtesy to not believe or worship. Problems only arise, when this philosophy of mine is challenged by someone who tells me I’m wrong to not believe in god because I should, then it becomes personal and I push back.

If an atheist is hostile towards religion, then most likely they were raised in a religion that did a lot fo psychological damage.

It doesn't take much research of religious history to realise that animosity IS well deserved. Pedophiles, witch burning, the inquisition etc. Although one might argue that is history, a study of current events shows the continuing impact of their bigotry even if it is not as blatant or as overt as it was. And when you say religion in general, let's not forget genital mutilations, child brides, honour killing etc.

I don't think it's right to be mean to anyone just because they're delusional and have no justification for what they believe.

However, if I'm going to be a little bit of a stickler for detail, by mentioning the atrocities in their holy books, such as slavery, stoning, murder and rape, I would say there are consequences to such beliefs.

People are judged on their actions and when you have believers spewing apologetics for all these things, and many behaving like self righteous assholes, I say the disdain from non believers is justified.

Many atheists are hostile to religion and that is apparent, but have you any data to indicate that atheists go around exhibiting hostility toward the religious (which is different)? I recently read a bunch of responses christians gave when asked what they thought of atheists. They all suggested violence against atheists: hang them, shoot them, beat them up, etc. I have not seen atheists saying these things about religious people.

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So those who systematically terrify children into compliance by saying that if they don't believe, they will burn forever in the fire-pits of hell don't deserve animosity?

So those who systematically undermine scientific discovery and advancement because it doesn't comply with the tennets of their faith don't deserve animosity?

So those who justify their own howling bigotry and intollerance by quoting from a book of middle-eastern, bronze-age fairy-tales, written by goat-herders who didn't even know the Earth orbitted the Sun don't deserve animosity?

So those who seek to base the laws of the land on their own, religious text, thus forcing it on others who do not accept said text don't deserve animosity?

So those who have a history of savage torture and abuse (such as the Spanish Inquisition, the slaughter and subjugation of native American peoples) and genocidal war (for example the Crusades) don't deserve animosity?

Sorry - you are mistaken.

Animosity is EXACTLY what religion deserves.

There were many religious folk who were "hostile" toward me, when I was peacefully coming to terms with my agnosticism. They were so hateful and spiteful, arrogant and deceitful, that they deserved far more animosity than I gave them by withdrawing myself from their life, but I prefer a peaceful ending.

I also have gentle religious folk in my life, who give respect and even express comaraderie with me, knowing we are both passionate in our different beliefs yet also good people, so whatever we are doing is right for us. I'm happy to be their friend, because they don't try to tell me I'm wrong, they're right, and I'm going to hell, unless I let them save me with their myth.

Anyone wanting to mess with me with their hostility regarding my beliefs needs to allow me to walk away from them, or I will get hostile right back, which is not my preference. Yes, they deserve animosity if they are imposing their myth on me. I've done a lot of thinking on the subject, to get where I am in my beliefs. I've likely done far more reading on religions than they have too, so they are wise not to pick a fight with me. It's just not worth it. Lucky for me, I can live in a bubble without too many people showing me animosity.

It's not just hostility towards the religious.

Many Atheists are just hostile in general... even towards its own kind.

I have to conclude that some people are just a××holes.

Religion does not deserve hostility, oh really? As Bill Mahr once said," When I hear from people that religion doesn't hurt anything I say really? Well besides wars, the crusades, the inquisitions, 9-11, ethnic cleansing, the suppression of women, the suppression of homosexuals, fatwas, honor killings, suicide bombings, arranged marriages to minors, human sacrafice, burning witches, and systematic sex with children, I have a few little quibbles. And I forgot blowing up a girls school in Afghanistan."

I don't see how expressing an opinion is hostile. Atheists don't go around blowing up clinics, hanging and burning believers, or forcing believers to convert to anything. We have a right to get together as we do on this site, and vent and express our opinions on religions that have been oppressing the populus for centuries. So freedom of speech is only afforded to the theists, but when nonbelievers express their opinions and exercise their freedom of speech it is considered hostile. I don't see it that way.

That's quite a broad statement. Can't speak for anyone else but I certainly don't go around attacking religious people. As far as I am concerned people are free to engage in whatever they wish, as long as they do not interfere with my rights. If anything I find myself on the defense. On a larger level I do have concerns about my country being run by people who use religion for political gain and those who might wish to impose faith based laws.

A majority of the times I have observed hostility being projected at the religious, it has been BY the religious
A majority of the times I have observed hostility being projected at the atheistic, it has been BY the religious
The majority of the times I have observed "hostility" or as I would call it just criticism, being projected at the religious, BY the atheistic it has not been because they ARE religious, it has been because they are arrogant, willfully ignorant, cruel and unjust, plain ignorant, down right stupid, exploitative, crooked, perverted or are protecting the exploitative, crooked and perverted for no other reason than that the are religious.
In such cases it is perfectly reasonable to feel such criticism is well deserved.

So the pastors in the USA who have ignored the lockdown rules during the current pandemic and consequently have caused the deaths of many including themselves in several cases do not deserve ridicule.?

Why don't you explain why it's not deserved? What do you mean by "too many"? What would be the correct amount of atheists and under what circumstance? I don't understand the point of coming here to complain about atheists without a shred of justification for your comment.

Oh yes! But sacred cows make the best hamburger!

‘Too many religionists are hostile to atheists. I understand the animosity but I don't think it is deserved.’

i'm hostile when religion insinuates itself into government policy. But not to the people themselves, victims of indoctrination. We will not win them over with hostility

I disagree. As an atheist I am supportive the religious under some conditions. I am also hostile under other conditions. I make a sharp distinction between those who seek to understand and improve their own lives, and those who try to ram their own opinions down my throat. The latter group traumatised me, and I see no good reason why they should be allowed to traumatise other people.

mind you, I can understand the hostility of those victims of childhood abuse at the hands of the 'godly'. They have every right to be hostile toward people who continue to support these institutions.

That is your opinion, not a fact. Most nonbelievers could not care less about religious people as long as they don't bother us. Unfortunately most religious people are required to proselytize as part of their brainwashing and that is when shit hits the fan.

I am against all violence. And yes, that includes the hate and bigotry that stems from religion.

Religion is hostile toward science, reality, and even common sense, it is inevitable that it will provoke hostility against itself, especially, when it is pushing its nonsense on others while lying and using every devious macanation it can find.

So if a religious person wants to ban the right of a woman to choose or wants to say that female genital mutilation is gods will or wants to justify circumcision (genital mutilation of the male) or Sharia law or enforce the education of religious beliefs in our public schools and so on and so on.....should we not be hostile to this???? Being hostile to an individual is not productive but being hostile to their beliefs is appropriate in my view. The problem with a lot of very religious people is that they take a critical view of their beliefs as a personal insult, which it is not, and they don't afford a non believer the respect that they demand.

I tend to exclude people from my life who are ignorant, boorish, rude, bigoted and hateful - how much of a coincidence is it that many of these kinds of people find a home in religion? I have friends who are religious but thankfully not devoutly religious to the point that it impairs their ability to reason.
I am also of the considered opinion that religion has not only been the root cause of many of the worst of our social ills but that it has also stunted our growth as a species but I don't run around burning down churches and I don't discriminate against religious people in the workplace (something that is not always true of the religious).
Do I mollycoddle the religious idiots of the world, no I do not and nor should I.