I know what you mean, this particular viewpoint has even affected our legal system! http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=45874 Here is one argument that goes that way: "Do you have a belief that atheism is true? If no, then you're lying, if yes, then you are acting on faith. If you don't believe in God, you must believe in something or someone else. An atheist doesn't simply lack positive belief in God. The atheist has positive belief in the non-existence of God" This particular person lumps athiesm into the religion category, simply because it is based off of "faith". However, most dictionary definitions that I looked up would not support that view. In my opinion, any set of beliefs or social movement can show similarities with religions or religious movements, and in general that is what I mostly see, people ignoring dictionary definitions and pointing out what characteristics a particular group of people have in common with those who are religious. They accept their views based off of "faith", their group is showing "cult" like aspects, etc. In my opinion, those who choose to use the word this way are mis-using the word. However, words change over time to suit the particular needs of a community....this word gets mis-used so often I wouldn't be surprised if our dictionaries were one day changed.