I am assuming that you mean on this site. Sadly yes, some of the discussions here do turn out that way. We have many fine discussions here on answerbag concerning religion, the Bible, and spiritual matters. From time to time, someone stumbles upon this website, tripping into the scene like a bar room drunk. They insult a few people, try to make their twisted points, then they stumble back out of the room. Once in a while, someone, perhaps a bored teenage atheist, decides to take on a new identity, and then starts taking shots at the Christians who make a habit of spending time here. We put up with their insults because we view the right to speak freely about our faith as something that we hold dear. Some of us in our earlier lives even served their nation defending everyones right to speak freely like that. Perhaps as they finally mature, they will begin respecting those rights too. Some of us veiw it as a commission to preach the good news, as it was actually the last command that Christ gave his followers before He ascended to heaven. I will do my best to maintain a Christian attitude when conversing with others here on answebag. I know that I enjoy it here.

Ok, jervinator, I can see you're not going to just go field some "What's this Pill?" questions. Here's the promised "more detailed" answer: 1. Human beings form concepts about reality to try to understand and control it. 2. These concepts are useful at best, but cannot be absolutely true because the nature of reality cannot be "flattened out" into something as simple as concepts, much as a 3-D image cannot be rendered in 2 dimensions without distortion: you have to lose the extra dimension. 3. Because concepts seem so stable and solid, we like them. Compared to the complicated, relative, and ever-changing REALITY they point to, concepts are much more "user friendly". This affection becomes so severe that for most adults, it's actually an addiction. We've lost the ability to distinguish between our concepts and reality because we've clung to the concepts so hard for so long. 4. One of the most crucial concepts formed by the mind is "myself". Most minds have completely identified with this concept, and the concept is closely bound to a corresponding set of concepts about reality as a whole: that is, myself and the world come as a sort of matched set. I know who I am by distinguishing myself from the world conceptually. 5. The stability of this self/world conceptual structure is critical to normal consciousness. The mind invests tremendous resources in maintaining the status quo with regard to questions like "who am I", and "what is reality like". Without these fixed reference points, the mind fears that chaos would result. 6. Our brains and bodies are wired up for "fight or flight": adrenaline is pumped in reaction to threats, and there are very powerful survival response patterns hard-wired into us which help us cope with dangerous situations. Because the mind has identified with the constructed concept of "self", this "protection" of the primitive survival mechanisms is extended beyond just the physical body -- the whole system becomes devoted to protecting the conceptual self as well. 7. Because the self/world conceptual structure is fundamentally unstable (because reality cannot be "flattened"), the mind senses at an unconscious level that something is doubtful about it's construction. However, this doubt is too threatening to confront or allow to come into awareness. This sets up the conditions for battle over ideas: any concepts which are inconsistent with the individual's fundamental model of self / world will be treated as a threat, because they stimulate the dreaded doubt about the model. 8. The person who is now both clinging to their model and unconsciously doubting it must *externalize* the fear which is triggered by the presence of a competing worldview. To do otherwise would be to acknowledge that the whole structure is a "house of cards", that doubt underlies the self/world model. So attacking alternate views is basically a giant diversion, in which the mind lashes out at "them" to avoid confronting it's hidden uncertainty about the model which it is clinging to, using survival mechanisms evolved primarily to ensure physical safety. There, is that detailed enough?

I'm going to sum it up in a simple answer. I think they fear eachother. Christians and other religious people fear that secularists are corrupting their kids and secularists are afraid that Christians advocate forming an intolerant theocracy.

Unfortunately most of them. Particularly when they are brought up so often on forums like this with people like I believe you are, who have very defined and strong opinions about their own religios beliefs (and some people just like to get into or see a good "fight.") Far too many is my short answer. :)

If you challenge ONE concept in a person's religion, and thus undermine this concept, they either have to reject your ideas OR their religious beliefs. Guess who loses?

I think that when u dispute someones religious beliefs or lack their of, they dont take it as if u said 'blue is better than green' or sumthing else insignificant, i think that it is scary for some to se that their opinion is not considered fact everywhere. on the secular side and the religous side, u r saying that wut they are living for and the way they live there life is wrong.the religous see u saying that there God isnt real or the way they choose to get to there God is the wrong way. the Secular see u saying that they do not have complete control of their future, and they will be judged for the decisions they made.