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While I agree that the major religions practiced in places like America, Australia, or the U.K. have a great effect and influence on people's lives in ways that significantly inhibit their freedom, for me it hasn't taken away to the deeper mysteries of religion. I mean, I get the whole Greta Christina-esque rant, why some atheists choose to be "active atheists" or "non-theists," so on and so forth... You mentioned that we have to figure out a way to "get along," I don't think taking the anti-theist position is the way to go, even if it's veiled through secularism or some other euphemistic synonym that people use for atheism, it still carries connotations of contentiousness. Just as Satan in Christianity represents a pure evil where no good could ever come about, a kind of "eternal enemy," and how do you resolve that?
All the Greta-esque fury and wrath aside, I still think agnosticism holds as a very conservative and skeptical position. You mentioned comparative religion. I've been studying comparative religion for about 4 years now, and you know, when you actually take the time to study eastern religion, low and behold, you find a religion completely compatible with things like evolution, The Big Bang, M-Theory, etc.
I used to hold the position of empirical agnosticism, but then when I came across the work of certain philosophers such as Alan Watts and Terence McKenna, I came to find a whole new perspective that sheds light on a lot of the confusion that people encounter in many of the major religions around the word, including Christianity, Buddhism, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Taoism, etc.
You opined that yahweh, God, Allah, and any other "mystical character" are all creations from the human imagination and served a purpose that no longer needs such tales. Well, if I may offer an entirely different take on this opinion of yours where God is not thought up, conjured, or imagined, but rather interpreted through a kind of afflatus. I'll link you to a thread I've recently introduced this idea to, just search "Perennial Philosophy."
Btw, it's just something to consider! I'm not trying to sell you on this point of view, I'd simply like for you to consider it.
http://www.atheistnexus.org/forum/topics/how-much-proof-is-enough?c...
In places like South Africa especially in the black communities when you come out of the closet and say you are a full blown Atheist they start deserting you and telling each other that you are satanic and got possessed by forces of the dark.. Worse part, I only listen to heavymetal rock and have posters of Slayer and Black Sabbath on my bedroom wall.. And yeah, after going through that process of being named Luciferian, I decided its better if I keep my thoughts a secret..
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