"And enlightened as they are, they've come up with quite the pretense for justifying the righteousness of their bigotry: they are defending the vision of our Founding Fathers from a dominionist conspiracy to establish Christianity as the state religion."

"You see, for liberal Atheists, the only thing worse than religion is the Religious Right, a term they use to encompass all Christian conservatives. And what better way to siphon fuel from the Religious Right than to convince Americans that the government is perpetually on the verge of becoming a theocracy? "

"But above all, Atheists stoke fear among religious and nonreligious alike that conservatives view government as a tool to force religion down your throat."

Thanks clip-on, excellent article and commentary.

I think that's painting a bit of a narrow picture. Any belief system runs the risk of having sects that use their own positions as a justification for superiority.

Some of the most intelligent people I've had the opportunity to meet have had a devout faith, and while I may not personally feel the same way toward matters of faith, I can't deny that they possess rather well-developed mind, and informed perspectives.

But, the dangers of ridicule and intolerance can certainly seep into any community that possesses strong views, and I certainly believe that 'militant' atheists are capable of such elitism.