Is there a difference?

Well, obviously there is a difference, but what about the more "radical" Progressive Christians, such as John S. Spong or United Church Canada's own Gretta Vosper? I've read a lot of Spong's works as well as finishing up Vosper's "With or Without God," and one comes away feeling like they both, more or less, pay lip service to Christianity while there is nothing that really distinguishes them from atheists.

Reasons people leave the faith, according to [some] Christians:

The purpose of this post is to stimulate thought and discussion.  It represents a viewpoint that may counter that of people professing to be atheists.  Keep in mind it should be no more objectionable than those who disparage conservative, orthodox faith.

Discussion on many political and religious issues to come very shortly.

My question should really be this: is Richard Dawkins' staunch promotion of evolution = atheism defeating the cause to promote scientific literacy in the United States and other countries that reject evolutionary theory?

So I just finished watching Bill Maher's Religulous. The majority of it was not too surprising, very funny in parts and worthy of the time. He really is putting himself out there in the line of fire (perhaps literally), to state his views.

What was important however, was how the movie ended. A plea to grow up for humanity. Basically, it's time to put people into positions of political power, not because of their idiology, but because they can make rational decisions and produce needed change.

My question for this topic is....

As an athiest myself, I was wondering how others came to be non-believers.  I can tell you my story if you want, but I am interested in how others came to be that way?

Now this may be a good chance for those of us who don't believe to let the believers know how we came to the conclusion that there is no god, and give them maybe some understanding why we think the way we do.  For any people of faith who have questions, please feel free to ask. 

 I was talking to my friends about their beliefs, and whether or not God exists. They all know I'm Christian, and that my dad's a minister. Disregarding what the rest of them said for the sake of this blog's topic, one of my friends, let's call him Jason, said that he was an atheist. Now I've been hearing a lot about atheism these days, from media and also a lot around school. Jason thought he was an atheist. Just so you know, I have nothing wrong with atheism at all.

The conversation went as follows:

"Well, I consider myself an atheist."

Some think that belief in God is needed for cultivating a religious heart which can express deep feelings of wonder and reverence, a grateful heart which can appreciate the wonderful gift of life, and a compassionate heart which can lead an ethical life to benefit all humanity.

May I introduce Religious Naturalism and Religious Humanism?  They can do all these without falling into speculative theism.

In short, there is no need for speculating a God.

What are Religious Naturalism and Religious Humanism?