Howard, I don't really think I have a "need to attribute them to a 'divine essence'" - I just see a divine essence in things, whether other people see it that way or not. It's not a need to see things, it's just the way I DO see things. I'm not claiming it's better or deeper or anything - it's just the way I see things.
And Stringsinger, repression affects everyone, not just atheists. I could argue that we liberal Christians get it with both shotgun barrels from the fundamentalists, because they think we have betrayed "the true faith." Certain people (mostly extremists and absolutists on the right and the left) have a mindset that fears any opinion other than their own, and they feel a need to repress all other thinking.
-Joe-