Those who have strong opinions on the matter often push 'straw man' definitions of words like 'atheist'.

Yes...there can be those who are evangelical about denying religion, and who can be just as obnoxious as those who knock on doors to sell their version OF religion...but often, 'atheist' merely means NOT accepting the many claims of others. It is silly to judge someone by a word they use without asking what THEY mean by it.

(Amos said about the same thing up above)