If you want a short answer, or you do not want to read that book because it attacks your (and all) religion, here is my answer:

First of all, atheists are people who do not believe in the existence of any God or deity. Most atheists don't believe in God because there is no concrete evidence supporting his existence, and because his existence cannot be proven (however, any intelligent atheist will realise that his existence cannot be disproven, either).

Many atheists have grown up in an atheist household or society, and have always been told that there is no god, just as many Christians come from an Christian household, or many Muslims come from a Muslim household. However, there is also a number of atheists who came to their conclusion as a result of their own use of reasoning, or through the reasoning of others. For example, only 7% of the members of the National Academy of Science believe that there is undoubtedly a god (1), which is likely a result of this scientific reasoning.

Atheists are often angered by religion, or at least believe that it has negative effects. Often, they will point out that religion is a barrier to social progress. For example, the Bible's condemnation of homosexuality is often seen by atheists (particularly in Western societies) as having no real reason, when viewed from a logical perspective. However, the most disturbing thing about religion, according to many atheists, is their violent nature; everything from the Crusades to modern terrorism have been a result of religion.

Naturally, atheism does affect an atheist's point of view when it comes to moral and ethical issues, global issues, politics, etc. (although atheists are certainly not all of the same opinion). Whereas those who are religious might look to a religious text for guidance on these issues, atheists prefer to use secular reasoning to form an opinion. Therefore, atheists may be among the most divided people on these issues.

Most atheists celebrate some holidays. In Western society, most celebrate Christmas, exclusively in its commercial form (ex. they will put up a tree, exchange gifts, etc.). Of course, non-religious holidays are celebrated (although "non-religious holiday" is an oxymoron because the root of "holiday" is "holy day," but this is beside the point and is completely irrelevant to your question). I'm assuming you meant religious holidays, and so my answer is yes, but in a non-religious way.

I hope my answer was sufficient.
References :
1. http://www.stephenjaygould.org/ctrl/news/file002.html

How does any one come to this conclusion? Logic and reasoning, and a whole lot of scientific data. People argue "faith" as proof of God. Science has brought us too far to still believe in a sex obsessed genocidal bearded tyrant in the sky. People once believed the Earth was flat, not round. The Bible may be a book of storys with the intention to teaching morals, but some people really believe the Earth is less than 10 thousand years old.
Scientific method clearly demonstrates that the Earth is over 4.3 billion years old. The Bible is an outdated book that has no validity in the classroom, and should not be taken literally. I come from a Roman Catholic backround and I remember struggling with the belief in "Adam and Eve", and dinosaurs at the same time. So I came to the reasonable conclusion that the Bible is not to be taken literal.

Atheist are not necessarily angry people. I would consider the majority to be far more reasonable than religious fanatics, who are quick to judge and label perfect strangers. In fact there is an interisting movement to re-name athiest. Many would like to refered to "Brights" in place of "athiest" in an attempt to rid some negative light on such beliefs (or disbeliefs).

As far as politics and cults, athiest are not a specific people with any dogma or set system of beliefs. I'm in the USARMY, and I'm positive there are other athiest that would not care to identify with me. So I can't comment on religion, politics, or cults on behalf of all athiest.

Yes being an athiest affects my viewpoint on many things. I don't care if homosexuals marry each other. Why should I? I'm not gay, so what gay people decide to do in the privacy in their homes does not affect me.

As far as causes go how about AIDS? It's terrible right? Yea thats what i think too. Then why should the Catholic Church codemn the use of condoms, wich would help stop the spread of AIDS? Why.. Oh yea, right…. that sex obsessed tyrant in the sky says condoms are bad. AIDS IS BAD!

I do celebrate holidays because its part of my culture as an Irish Catholic American. Its a family thing

So I'd like to say Athiest are not fire breathing evil people who want hell on Earth. I'm 23 and fairly normal. Like the John Lennon song says imagine a place with no religion, would we have such conflict like the Isreali / Palestine conflict? I don't know.
References :
http://richarddawkins.net/homehttp:
//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athiesm

the same way believers of a god can say, look around you… look at nature… how can you not believe in god… atheists say look around you… look at nature… how can you believe in a god? believers see the miracle, atheists see the evolution.

christians and other believers may say that evolution has been found to be false. atheists will counter by saying that a miracle, or creationism, has no evidence or proofs to back it up, but evolution has an "overwhelming" supply. i think this is one reason why atheists dont believe in a god.

just because an atheist doesnt believe in a god, doesnt mean that he or she is angry. everyone gets angry once in a while, even believers.

a religion is just a cult with many followers. to give an example… when jesus first started preaching about god… and he had 12 deciples… that was a cult. 13 men. one cult.

over time, as people joined jesus and his deciples, his group grew larger and larger… it grew more important… important enough for the controlling government to recognize it. then that cult became a religion. thats all a religion is… a cult with many people and importance. its nothing to be ashamed of. a cult isnt evil, its just different from the norm.

politics has to do with the government, and atheists sometimes get angry because even though there is a separation of the church and the state, many politicians try to get their religious views made into law… a big example is homosexual marriage. there is nothing wrong with two men or two women marrying, except that religion says its wrong. if religion (church) was truly separated from the government (state), then there wouldnt be any problem. alas, that is not the case.

atheists celebrate new years, valentines day (if they are romantically envolved), martin luther king day, independence day, halloween, thanksgiving, christmas, and many other holidays. you might wonder why they would celebrate christmas… well they dont believe in jesus, but they do probably give and recieve presents. christmas was actually a pagan holiday. the christmas tree was a pagan tradition.

hopefully this answers some, if not all of your questions. have a nice day.
References :

You believed that when you were a child, until you didn't believe it anymore. The idea of Santa was deflated and the belief in Santa vanished.

Atheism is rather like that. It is, in and of itself, not hostile to religion or belief, it is merely the absence of belief in a supreme being.

There are those, probably recent to the discovery of their own disbelief, who are disappointed and angry, and those people tend to harangue the religious. I wouldn't take them very seriously, if I were you. They will settle down at some point, I'm sure.
References :

I'll explain to you in a few simple paragraphs why Buddhists do not believe in a deity, creator god. Like Jesus, we do not Judge another, as
He taught mankind Not to do in Matt. 7:1-5
Please read slowly while keeping Matt. 7
verses 1 – 5 in mind.

Do Buddhists believe in a creator god ?
In the creator God of the Desert ? The God of the Jews, Christians and of the Muslims ? No. There are several reasons for this.” Buddhism, like scientists, sociologists and psychologists, believed that religious ideas and especially the god idea, the god-concept have their origin in fear!! “ The Dhammapada states, "Gripped by Fear mankind goes to
their sacred mountains, sacred groves, sacred
trees, Shrines and Churches." Dp. 188

Primitive man found himself in a dangerous and hostile world, the fear of wild animals, of not being able to find enough food, of injury or disease, and of natural phenomena like thunder, lightning and volcanoes was constantly with him. Finding no security, he created the idea of gods in order to give him comfort in good times, courage in times of danger and consolation when things went wrong. To this day, you will notice that people become more religious at times of crises, you will hear them say that the belief in a god or gods gives them the strength they need to deal with life. You will hear them explain that they believe in a particular god because they prayed in time of need and their prayer was answered. All this seems to support the Buddha’s teaching that the god-idea is a response to fear and frustration. * “Buddhism teaches us to try to understand our fears, to lessen our desires and to calmly and courageously accept the things we cannot change. Buddhism replaces fear, not with irrational belief but with rational understanding.”*

***“The second reason Buddhism does not believe in a god is because there does not seem to be any concrete evidence to support this idea. There are numerous religions, all claiming that they alone have god’s words preserved in their holy book, that they alone understand god’s nature, that their god exists and that the gods of other religions do not. Some claim that god is masculine, some that she is feminine and others that it is neuter. They are all satisfied that there is ample evidence to prove the existence of their god but they laugh in disbelief at the evidence other religions use to prove the existence of another god. It is not surprising that with so many different religions spending so many centuries trying to prove the existence of their god, or gods that still no real, concrete, substantial or irrefutable evidence has been found. ** “Buddhists suspend judgement until such evidence is forthcoming !!”***

*”The third reason Buddhism does not believe in a god is that the belief is not necessary. Some claim that the belief in a god is necessary in order to explain the origin on the universe. But this is not so. Science has very convincingly explained how the universe came into being without having to introduce the god-idea. Some claim that belief in god is necessary to have a happy, meaningful life. Again we can see that this is not so. There are Millions of atheists and free-thinkers, not to mention over 8.8 billion Buddhists, who live useful, happy and meaningful lives without belief in a god. Some claim that belief in god’s power is necessary because humans, being weak, do not have the strength to help themselves. Once again, the evidence indicates the opposite. One very often hears of people who have overcome great disabilities and handicaps, enormous odds and difficulties, through their own inner resources, through their own efforts and without belief in a god. Some claim that god is necessary in order to give man salvation. But this argument only holds good if you accept the theological concept of salvation and Atheists and Buddhists do not accept such a concept. Buddhism teaches that each human being has the capacity to transform the mind, develop infinite love, patience, and compassion AND perfect understanding. Buddhism shifts one’s attention from the heavens to the heart and encouraged us to find solutions to our problems through self-understanding.”**

Hopefully you did read this, while keeping

Matthew 7:1-5 (Amplified Bible is my favorite
version) in mind. We, too read the bible, and highly admire Jesus' words which he spoke 2,000 years ago within his
Three and a Half Yr. Ministry.

But we also read The Buddha's words, which he spoke AND wrote down himself, over 2,600 years ago, during his 45 yr. Ministry.

Hope this gave you an understanding why
Buddhists do not believe in a creator god.

We, choose to especially emphsize reason
# 2.

You asked an excellent, sincere question.

Thank You.

Also please Note: "There has Never been a War, and Killing done in the Name of Buddhism."
All buddhists are happy about that, because we practice the principle of No Harm. To never harm a living being, "for ALL Life is Sacred !!"

Please have a calm, peaceful week.
References :

If you, on the other hand, wanted to argue that he was real then the contradictions start to pile up – from the big ones (Why didn't he warn the US about Pearl Harbor? Why didn't he free the Jews from the death camps? Why didn't he end WWII?) to the little ones (How does he decide who to save from accidents? How does he pick which crooks to catch?).

I'd have a hard time answering those questions about Superman. Or god.

I am not particularly angered by religion (and I would consider most religions to be cults). Politics angers me outside of my atheist beliefs. The one intersection of my beliefs, religion, and politics is when religions try to enact their religious dogma into law.

It can be minor irritations (like not being able to buy certain things on Sundays) or major ones (like not being able to buy birth control or having my sons taught creationism). Basically, I just wish people would leave other people alone. I lump religions into a whole raft of interest groups that have not been able to convince people to do it their way and are now lobbying legislators to require people to do it their way.

I celebrate all the holidays that have advertising inserts associated with them including Christmas, Easter, and the Super Bowl (go Colts).
References :

I came to this conclusion after many years of doubting.

Religion doesn't anger me. People who want to write our laws based on religious beliefs angers me.

Yes I celebrate holidays.
References :

I don't believe in one because there isn't evidence for any god, let alone your god in particular. All there is, is a book written in the Bronze Age by unidentified religious zealots. I would be hard pressed to come up with a worse source.

Religion per say doesn't anger me at all. I do have political issues with religious followers who try to use their numbers to force their religion into things like science class.

Not that much. In general I am very conservative which makes me a minority among atheists. But I don't think my lack of faith changes things much. My sense of logic does a lot more, which is related.

Most of the ones you do. I like Christmas even though I think the reason is bunk. I do skip Easter.
References :

You need to know this about Atheism, as it will effect everything you learn from them. All Atheists that I've ever talked to (and there have been dozens), all say the same things, and they can't say them without demeaning someone else's beliefs. If you press them, you always get the impression that Christianity is the only religion they hate, and they will NEVER be completely honest on this point.

I believe Aeryn just called us "silly" and "make believe"? With all due respect, how does she know? Why the emotional response?

Let me show you how easy it is:

"I don't believe God exists."

(I started writing this immediately after Aeryn, I'm glad to see others with more rational responses. I'm positive that when pressed, though, each of them will show their rejection of only one religion. For some reason, God is always singled out.)
References :