Originally posted by Malacasta
What is the belief system for an atheist? If I don’t believe in the Australian Aborigine dreaming as the explanation for the origin of the universe, what does that say about any other beliefs or non beliefs I might have? To not believe in a thing does not imply a belief in something else, nor does it imply that I have a system of beliefs in something else. If I don’t believe in invisible pink unicorns, then that doesn’t mean I have a belief system based on the non belief of invisible pink unicorns.
What is the belief system for a Christian? Is gay marriage allowed or not? According to who, and why?

The differences are even more marked comparing different religions...

That fact that there is some measure of diversity within a subset doesn't mean I am forced to ignore that the whole subset exists. About the time atheists and other elements in society team up and systematically bring lawsuits to bring about a specific change in society, any lingering doubts that I might have that there is an underlying system of beliefs motivating many atheists are pretty much wiped away.

As an aside, if I had a dime for every time I heard some variant of the "pink unicorn" example....