i believe that atheism is in itself a religion, because it is a believe in an idea without accepting the possibility of it being wrong. many atheists are as narrow minded as any religious fanatic in my opinion.
oh and just for the atheists in here who believe in science as a replacment for god, here are some interesting religious scientists:
Albert Einstein, believed in his own version of god = nature, and used him in arguments a lot (i.e. "I, at any rate, am convinced that He(that is god) does not throw dice").
most of the manhetten project (that created the atomic bomb) were catholic christians.
Galileo Galilei, was in conflict with the roman catholic church for trying to use his science as a new explanetion for biblical text.
Isaac Newton, believed in god and was very devout about it, In Principia he stated, "The most beautiful system of the sun, planets, and comets, could only proceed from the counsel and dominion of an intelligent and powerful Being."
and the list goes a lot longer.
atheism is only popular in modern times, but all the great work in science and technology came from people trying to explain and understand god. even the very first physics text book was written by aristotle who used human nature and gods to explain how objects move.