Atheism has its priests, its fundamentalists, its proselytizers and its dangerous fanatics, just like most other faiths. On the other hand, it defines itself by what it doesn’t believe in, while failing to acknowledge its own dogmas.
And it requires a leap of faith, just like other religions.
Indeed. All that is necessary is to officially recognize atheism as a religion, being one extreme end if the deism index (none as opposed to poly). Then the purge of all things religious from the public square is defacto state sponsorship of religion - atheism.