I do apologize if this turns into a rant, though it may have been one in my head from its inception. I also apologize for my bad writing skills and hope I don't come off as arrogant. The purpose of this is just to state why I think there are so many misconceptions about us, which many of us help perpetuate ourselves. I'm not exactly thrilled about being the least trusted minority in the country according to polling.
I've been involved with some conversations with some like-minded people whom I think may be underinformed, though on this topic, it isn't usually started by me. It often goes something like this - paraphrasing, of course:
[Something about someone being a Catholic or something is said]
Person 1: Yeah, I'm a Catholic... What are you?
Person 2: Oh, I'm an atheist.
Person 1: ....Oh...
Me: Yeah.... but what are you? What is your religion, or what are your views on it? Your philosophy?
Person 2: I just said I'm an atheist. I don't know too much about philosophy...
Me: Well, that's cool, but you still haven't answered Person 1's question.
It irks me.
I think it's great that people who don't follow an organized religion is growing. Compared to 1990, most polls have the population of non-religious Americans doubling since then. Most might not be atheist, but I've found few people who actually like organized religion throughout my adult life. Okay, so I'm 22, and haven't had much of one quite yet.
Atheism is also on the rise. There've been polls showing almost 1/3 of Americans under 30 either explicitly labeling themselves atheist (without religion) or agnostic (though I think it may be overstated.) But why do we allow ourselves to promote the vast misunderstandings a majority of the populace holds towards us? I think people see atheism as threatening, as something not to be trusted. Essentially, many who call themselves atheists are simple non-religious people, and some are actively non-religious, even though that may be nonsensical.
Atheism is, broadly-defined, a lack of belief in a god or gods. You can be a strong atheist, believing that there is no god, or a weak atheist, simply lacking any belief in one. Yet, that is not what one should describe themself as. If you simply call yourself an atheist, you leave the doors open for someone with knowledge of other religions, such as Jainism (linked because it's a fairly unknown religion in the west) or Buddhism, which leaves to the individual to believe in a diety or not, and did not have any followers with a western theist view until the westerners arrived in Tibet.
I'm not a fan of organized secular humanism, either - the same goes for Dawkin's attempted Brights movement. I think it's self-defeating to be non-religious yet belong to an organization/label that so closely resembles it. I have no problem with it, yet it further perpetuates that atheism is a religion - and many people believe it to be so. Perhaps I've been involved in the youtube shenanigans too long, and maybe most outside of the internet don't hold that belief.
When someone asks you your religion, you should reply "none," "I'm not religious," or perhaps "I'm a secular atheist." If you want to go further, many atheists seem to be supporters of philosophical naturalism (though there are religious naturalists as well.) You can be an atheist and believe in souls, while I don't. You can be an atheist and believe in an after, while I don't believe in that, either. I don't find it particularly wise for someone to answer their stance on one singular topic and assume it to be all-encompassing when asked their religious views. Many of us atheists are simply non-religious people, and when people understand that, maybe we won't be the less trusted minority.
But, please, when you're asked your religion or religious views, please don't say atheism.
[Note: I didn't include "agnostic" because I mean it more in terms of belief, not knowledge. I honestly hope none of you merely label yourselves as "agnostic," since you can not merely be 'agnostic.']