Communism was atheistic, but it wasn't atheism. By that logic, churches are religious so we're okay to equate them with jihadist mosques.
You can equate them with anything you want but what you can't do is equated the sheer number of murders committed by atheist governments with any religion including the whackjob jihadists. The jihadists are pikers compared to the 100 million killed by atheist governments in the 20th Century.
You, like the athiest, are speaking in generalities. I was speaking with one specific example for each of his assertions, to refute his generalization. If religion enslaves minds, as he posited, then clearly the absence of religion frees minds. This could not be further from the truth with Communism, under which religions and the religious are persecuted, and minds are enslaved en masse.
Conversely, he asserted that religion "hardens hearts". If that is true, then why are churches, synogogues, and yes mosques the largest sources of charitable donations and services on the planet, far outweighing any government involvement?
Perhaps, but can you name me any government that was based on atheistic principles that did not murder its own citizens?