Agreed that a "lack of belief" is strongly correlated with irreligious behavior. So then, when the author of the Reason article cites the religious indignity s

Agreed that a "lack of belief" is strongly correlated with irreligious behavior. So then, when the author of the Reason article cites the religious indignity she encountered when claiming that atheism is a religion, it makes one wonder if atheists actually have an affirmative belief in no god. Can you imagine anyone getting upset if you were to accuse them of being religious about their lack of belief in the tooth fairy? I can't. That's what a lack of belief looks like, no strong ties to any portrayal of your involvement in the idea. On the contrary, modern atheists in the Hitchens/Harris vein care very much how their beliefs are portrayed, and hold dearly to their cause of ridding the world of "religion".