There are some that decry the dangers of religion and religious intolerance. A belief in god has come under attack by both atheist and communist with great fervor.

Yet, as you will not in the definition above, one of the definitions of religion is that of a "cause, principle or system of beliefs held with faith and strong feeling." Doesn’t this apply to atheists that seek to save people from a false belief in god? They proselyte their belief in the absence of god as fervently and faithfully as those do with a belief in God.

Atheism has its distinct cause, the elimination of the belief in god. The principle is that the idea of god is a human invention that enslaves man and prevents his progression. Their system varies as does any form of religion.

One prominent system of atheism is communism. Marx said that religion is the opium of the people.

Throughout history religion has been a major focal point of war and contention. People have killed and persecuted one another for differing religious beliefs. It is no different today. Look at the persecution of Christians and other religions in China and Asia. The conflict is from the difference in religious faiths.

In Communism the party, or in many communist states the current leader of the party, is their god. Just as some other states, the state religion cannot tolerate anyone giving reverence to any other god or exercising their faith in any way contrary to the edicts of the state (church). So this is the problem the communist have with other religions. Christianity places Christ above any state, government or person. This cannot be accepted by communism. Through history we see this religious intolerance all over the world.

Atheism is a religion just as much as Islam or Christianity. The efforts of atheistic states to suppress or eradicate religious groups is no different than the Roman Catholic church attempting to stop the revival of Protestantism or Judaism. It is no different than the conflict between Muslims and Christians. It is no different than the conflict between Hindus and Muslims. Atheism is just another religion that attempts to proselyte by the sword than the word.

Communism is a church within the religion of atheism.