There seems to be an erroneous idea that atheists and fundamentalist religious people are the same. It's not true. Atheism will always mean the lack of interest or investment in religion. I don't think that atheists claim to know any absolute truths because they base their judgements on science which is always changing and as a result the atheist must change their "truths" with new information. A devout fundamentalist doesn't really change their "Truth" regardless of what new developments occur in science.

There are those who feel that organized religion has done more harm than good.
There is some evidence for this. Personally I think it comes down to the people. There are religious people who have done both and atheists as well. The institution of religion can be a problem for those who use it to defend destructive behavior as in wars or violence against others.

But there is no institution of atheism. Atheists can disagree on many levels but in my experience (Joe Stalin and Pol Pot aside) atheists tend to be moral people particularly if they are secular humanists who care about the human condition and want to alleviate injustice and suffering in this lifetime. This is not a religion, this is just common sense.

Frank Hamilton