Sometimes atheists get accused of being bullies because we are critical of religious.
I don’t happen to think the simple act of civil criticism, fits the bill, but when it comes to personal identity issues, many people take criticism, of any sort as an attack.
I’m not one of those atheists who believes you can criticize someone’s religion and lay claim to ‘just criticizing ideas’. When you call a belief stupid, there is a very unsubtle criticism, along the same lines, of anyone who believes.
This is why I think it is important to be careful when we criticize, not because I’m overly sensitive to the feelings of others, or because I’m afraid to criticize them, but rather because I know my own insensitivity can be damaging to people. I can be a real asshole when I put my mind to it.
I want people to think about religion, and to come to their own conclusions, and as such, I’m happy to discuss it, on whatever terms people will accept, because ultimately, I want to help religious people overcome their… limitations. We all have limitations.
I do recognize, there are times when, in-your-face-activism is the only option, but for me, that should be a last resort. We should try and avoid the knee-jerk attacks, which are so very human…. and more often than not, not at all constructive.