@Pachylad:
I identify as agnostic theist now, for what it's worth.
No offense to folks like Gliblord (who are quite restrained in their circles, hell I enjoy reading RationalWiki sometimes!), but the "New Atheist" movement in general (see: r/atheism specifically) has left such a bad taste in my mouth that I consider evangelical atheism even more insufferable than conservative Christianity (the background of the household I grew up, and still grow up, in)
I have quite a bit to say on the subject (naturally).
There are two main kinds of the oft-scorned "acerbic" atheists you see on places like r/atheism
a) The kind that are ultimately nothing more than callow douchebros. Typically teenagers who are discerning/bright enough to realize the intellectual merits of atheism, but haven't yet really experienced the gamut of the world's human beings enough to not paint with a broad brush. Of course this is also ego-stroking. They'll be the ones who call religion "a mental illness" and shit like that, and spend inordinate amounts of time making clever memes. They'll grow out of it. Then there are ones who never grow out of it because they really are just shitheels to the core, like, say, cough cough the Amazing Atheist cough cough. Also, a lot of these """""""""""freethinkers""""""""" also buy wholeheartedly into anti-feminist bullshit because they like being both superior and the "minority in the know."
b) The kind that have been LEGITIMATELY bruised by religion and have EVERY RIGHT to be bitter about it and express that bitterness freely. People whose lives have been ruined by petty legalism, by senseless strictures, by carefully maintained atmospheres of fear. People who need counseling to begin to heal from years and decades of being programmed to self-hampering guilt factories in the service of some man o' god fundie preacher's neverending need for personal power. Of course, you don't have to become an atheist after suffering licks from a bad religion (see the great and enlightening commenters on Stufffundieslike, the majority of whom are still evangelicals but have come to a much more sane perspective/way of life), but as you can hear on podcasts such as the fantastic Thinking Atheist, there's not exactly a paucity of people who have come out of religion feeling as though they've thrown off shackles on their minds. My own best friend here in Japan, an ex-Mormon who I've had post here, is only one of millions of examples.
I take issue, however, with finding so-called "evangelical atheism" (note the quotation marks of skepticism) to be more insufferable than conservative Christianity. I think that is a facile position. Let's not be facile.
*It ain't "evangelical atheism" whose ideology is overtaking the American military. You know, that thing with the big scary murder instruments? Plus doom prophecies many are itching to see come true?
*It ain't "evangelical atheism" that's causing kids all over the country/world to commit suicide simply because they are human beings who can't be fit into insane, inane molds for inter-family Sunday church judgment competitions. See: Utah, the Zion of anti-depressants and passive aggression.
*It ain't "evangelical atheism" that's retarded civil rights for centuries. Though you could thank all suspiciously self-serving dogmas, religious or otherwise, for that.
*It ain't "evangelical atheism" that's literally brewed extremist terrorists in the country more than willing to kill abortion doctors and members of other faiths. And don't take that as Islamophobia–far from it, it's Christian terrorist bullies targeting innocent Muslims far more than it is the reverse. Just goes to show you that in the end it's all just identity politics, largely feeding off emotion.
*It ain't "evangelical atheism" that's imprisoning, harming and downright murdering "apostates" and blasphemers all over the globe.
*It ain't "evangelical atheism" that's propped up undeserving royal lineages who cast their inherited ruling over the mast majority of people on divine ordainment since the inception of specialization of labor.
*It ain't "evangelical atheism" that has allowed destructive cults to flourish. preying upon base psychological needs as opposed to fulfilling them.
To the extent that any atheism could be called "evangelical" (ever see any atheists knocking at your door with tracts?), it's just not caused the same level of harm. Or, not presently. I suppose you could call Stalin and Mao "evangelical atheism" but as always there are extenuating circumstances (As they were unyielding dogmas based on ideology rather than actual facts, they could be called "religions" in their own right. Sounds like a shit-eating excuse? Well hey, I can't speak for egomaniacal mass murderers. Most atheism is not born of a Pol Pot-like hunger to smash religion into the ground). (Whatever we do, let us not delve into the always distasteful WHICH KILLED MORE, RELIGION OR STALIN debate that is the domain of Youtube). Typically, "atheism" isn't even a belief in itself that CAN be evangelized. It is merely the lack of a belief. It is the end result of free thought, like clicking the defrag feature of your brain.
If all of you fine folks will allow this humble man to be blunt, I find much of the winging over "omg r/atheism it's just another religion lololololol" to be nothing more than another self-congratulatory circlejerk. The only difference is that those people don't have the balls to call themselves what they actually are. You're not agnostic. You're not constantly tearing your hair out wondering and shredding your finery wondering, could it be, is GOD really for real!? UGH, I JUST CAN'T BE SURE! You live as though God doesn't exist, you don't pray to a God that might be there, you're a goddamned atheist. And don't give me that oh, but God is really the UNIVERSE!! twaddle. You're a goddamn atheist and just won't admit it for fear. I respect those who field strong convictions if they are rationally based, and that includes rational theists. What I can't stand are spineless fence-sitters who have all the information in the world at their fingertips and yet are content not to form a real opinion one way or the other about, you know, kind of the most important question there is, because, and let's be honest here, they're actually just comfortable with the conflict-averse "middle position." The complacent.
I'm not saying these things about you, this is the general you, as in I'm saying it's those people who are neither me nor you nor anyone in this thread but we can all agree are those assholes, haha. As you can see, it's something I feel strongly about. If I didn't, I wouldn't bother having an atheist humor podcast.
Let it be said that my interest in the topic is mostly academic; while I say it like I think it is, I more than acknowledge that I'm more detached than, say, some poor shmuck whose SO divorced him/her and took the kids because he came out of the closet. My base personality is that of a boundary-pushing joker. Hence "gliblord." Personally, I just talk about shit that catches my fancy and that I can wring a few yucks out of (along with my cohost of course). You can judge my character accordingly. I think I'm pretty funny, and I wouldn't kick a random old lady in the shin at a crosswalk, but I'm not going to be winning any Nobel Peace prizes any time soon.
Also, Rationalwiki is badass and awesome. I love surfing RW as well.