I think it's to do with the large bible loving population on this site. They get a little upset when u doubt their god....... oops :D

only by Christians!... why? because we blow their brainwashed minds with Logic and any one who has logic is Elitist in their eye's, logic means free thinking and thats one thing they will never have because their church will never allow it to happen

I am not an atheists and I would hope that they do not hate christians, but it appears that they do. You could say that they are possessed, but you would get points taken away from the atheists here. You could say that they are in the darkness are are not blessed with the peace that goes with knowing the trinity. Maybe they are just the kind of people that have to dislike in order to be happy and have picked christians to be the ones they dislike? There are lots of possible reasons.

Because the few atheists that stand-out, stand-out only because they openly argue against Christianity and/or other religions. People then look at the those atheists and that's where the generalization comes from. I honestly believe the rest of the atheist population just doesn't care as long as no one starts trying to insult/convert them. Oh and I'm atheist... or maybe agnostic? o.o

Certainly not all are but, unfortunately, many of the most vocal seem to be.

Because the characterization appeals to those who have much to gain from the dumbing down of America, and the sheeple who participate in said dumbing down. Nicely-coded little memes, carefully crafted for maximum effect on those who are too lazy to think.

Why are Christians generalized as everyone else hating egotistical elitists? Why are Muslims generalized as everyone else hating egotistical elitists? Why are Mormons generalized as everyone else hating egotistical elitists? Why do all religions generalize each other and atheists as hateful egotistical elitists? Maybe they just wish to make their god happy.

I think that for many atheists on this site it is simply a matter that we have grown up in countries with predominantly judeo-christian sects. I think most of us tend to use the christian god as our whipping boy simply because we are exposed to christian dogma every day, especially in the US. It is often hard to see, but there are divisions in thinking among non-believers that can be difficult for theists to understand. The generalization of atheists as hating anyone who believes in a certain god (i.e. the god of Abraham, Christos etc.) often comes from a misunderstanding of atheism as a moral code. There are actually innumerable moral codes followed by atheists. I think that there are many reasons why people might malign Christians in particular. There are Objectivists who proselytize and Humanists who accept religion as a personal choice (and vice versa). From what I've seen, most atheist moral codes rely on accumulation and dissemination of knowledge to find truth. The fact that we tend to base our moral codes on reason and study may be why some people see us as elitist. I think that the primary reason atheists seem hostile towards Christians in particular is that Christianity provides a wellspring of arguments that have been rehashed over centuries. The repetition of old arguments that have to be continuously refuted causes a great amount of frustration for some of us. On a personal level, I feel that I have a moral obligation to try to answer people in ways that make them think and not necessarily worry about their personal feelings. I can see how me and many of my fellow atheists here can be seen as rude for showing our frustration with sarcasm and outright insults. On the other side, I can see how Christians would take theses as personal because we attack what is sacred to them. Frankly, it is human nature to react emotionally to such a challenge. Not all of us hate theists, but I can say that we all want to be allowed to share ideas and be taken just as seriously as organized religion.

Out of ignorance. It's that simple. People don't understand what atheism is. I am an atheist, and have been asked on more that one occasion if I believe in Satan, for example.

People like that guy with the beard that spells God GAWD.. He's filled with hate and rage. I think he's gonna blow his aorta.

That only happens in 'christian dominated' countries. in hindu societies the atheists typically speak against against hindu culture hypocrisies, And so it goes for whichever religion is preeminent somewhere.

A christian is one who doesn't know and doesn't care to know. An agnostic is one who doesn't know. An atheist is one who doesn't care. No hate involved!

...because we are better than everyone else and we hate christians... Actually, no - but members of any given group will tend to label members of any disagreeing group negatively...

I would say it starts as simple outgroup hostility. However, when discussing religion, atheists GENERALLY insist on relying on reason, logic and evidence, while believers tend to rely on faith. Perhaps this is why they are claimed to be elitist.

Because we don't agree, and they don't like it. But everyone does that. The majority of the non believing folks here seem to hate Christians just as much as Christians hate us, and so generalize them as brainwashed, ignorant and whatever. Some may be, but I've met a lot of intelligent and wise Christians. There are some few exceptions, but as a whole I think everyone does that. It is annoying though, I agree. Seems to me that the general understanding of atheism is to hate Christianity, which isn't the case, although sometimes, by the behaviour, you can't blame anyone for thinking that.

If the atheists on AB are an accurate measure, it's largely true.