My personal theology is very simple:
1. I don't believe there is a god; I am a weak atheist, since by definition it is impossible to completely disprove the existence of god.
2. I will be a good person, not out of fear but simply because it is the ethical thing to do. If there is a just and loving god, he will forgive me for the minor things, like Atheism, as long as I am a good person (for instance, a just god would rank helping the poor as more important than baptism; one who does not is either unjust or, even more terrifying, a bureaucrat)
3. If I am a good person, and god is unjust and judges me based on technicalities, then I would not worship him(them). I have morals, I have standards: I do not, and will not, worship power, however unilateral.
You know what Oddball, I find that most religious people have not studied atheist ideas of the universe and do not know or understand atheists very well. It is a human trait, not an atheist trait. It is simpler to just condemn those outside your group as ignorant, malicious, or somehow inferior than to get to know them. Religious people often think that atheists have no ethics because they have no fear of hell; Atheists often think that religious people are that way because they are blinded and ignorant.
That is the true problem with stereotyping, actually: A stereotype of someone, no matter what stereotype it is, will prevent you from seeing who they truly are. Instead, you often see only the stereotype.
The problem is, understanding other people is difficult. They can say things that annoy and infuriate you, especially if they are not trying to make an outreach as well. A few weeks ago I realized that it is not just a matter of Us not understanding Them; no, it is often a matter of Us not understanding how They do not understand Us. Once you see the other persons' stereotypes, their flawed misconceptions, you can correct them. The event that really opened my eyes was this:
I was talking with a (very conservative) friend. He asks my positions on Abortion and Capital punishment. I am pro-choice and rather ambivalent towards capital punishment. He mentions that he cannot understand how liberals can be pro-choice and anti-capital punishment at the same time; it seems like hypocrisy to him. He understood how somebody could be pro-life and pro-capital punishment or pro-life and anti-capital punishment or pro-choice and pro-capital punishment, but he didn't understand the fourth viewpoint. I pause, I think, I realize, I understand. Not only had it never occurred to him that Humans may not have souls, may not need souls, it had clearly never occurred to him, as I found out on asking, it had never occurred to him that anybody would believe that humans don't have souls. He had simply assumed that Liberals justified pro-choice beliefs based on a Libertarian and Utilitarian philosophy but switched to pure emotion and compassion with regards to the death penalty. For all his understanding of how pro-choice people believe that abortion is not murder, he did not understand that anybody could believe that abortion was not killing a person.
That is the true communication barrier. Not just us not understanding them, but us not understanding how they don't understand us.
That was a long post. Hmmm. Maybe it would just be easier to yell and shout and assume that all religious people are superstitious idiots who live in caves, instead.
P.S. @Oddball
I find most people who do not believe in a God or Diety havn't read and understood a Holy book and their teachings, hasn't attended Church, or made connections amoungst the religions.
If your religion relies on atheists to go out of their way to read books they regard as mysticism and fiction, and to do this voluntarily and without prompting, then perhaps you should take a second look at your missionary strategy. We shouldn't have to convince ourselves;
you should have to convince us, and you certainly have to put more effort into it than telling me to read the Bible and come back later. Don't be surprised if an atheist hasn't studied your religion; why should we try and convert ourselves?
Also, you'll find that djinn here, as he mentioned just earlier, was a devout christian until recently. I find that a significant percentage of the atheists I know were strongly religious earlier in their lives, but by no means a majority.