As an atheist reading through this thread I thought I would try and shed some light as to what atheism means to me and perhaps dispel the idea that it would be classified as a religion.
I have found analogies can sometimes work well in conveying complexity so imagine that the various religions of the world are represented by the different colors of a rainbow. They are rich and varied but follow the same path (of worship and belief in this case). Now your own personal religion would be perceived as white - a color none the less but this one is special. You would argue that it ‘illuminates’ better than all others as it does not follow a narrow path but is rather all-encompassing and provides you with the best perspective on life.
Now atheism, this is black, some think it’s a color but in its truest logical meaning it is in fact the absence of all color.
Those who are religious might think to pity those who choose to identify with the absence of color but in the darkness I begin to truly realize we are all worth the same.
Now this is just an analogy and those who would criticize me may try to poke holes in it but in the end I am not trying to make you believe anything, I am just trying to help you understand.