[Celtjew Libertarian]

So it seems, but I really don't know enough about the extreme atheist's position to flat-out say that it's held on faith. It may be just faulty reasoning. In any event, it's certainly not a religion. At least not what I would consider a religion. (Not unless it's coupled with other things, like rituals, scriptures, dogma, etc., which I've never heard of.)

On of my sisters-in-law, I am told (since this was years before I met her) used to carry around a book on atheism with her wherever she went and would quote from it freely to defend her belief.

She later became a born-again, conservative Christian. She still is but is less preaching than just living as one.

[PatrickHenry]

On of my sisters-in-law, I am told (since this was years before I met her) used to carry around a book on atheism with her wherever she went and would quote from it freely to defend her belief.

That has the outward appearance of religious behavior, but all by itself ... I think it's a stretch to call her position a religious one, based on that one activity. I guess it's possible for her (or anyone) to merely adopt the conclusions of another person, and thus one could be an unthinking atheist by just following the example of someone else. Such behavior could amount to something like a cult, I suppose. But this isn't what we usually think of when we think of atheism. Maybe some do see it like that.