I get why this news feels remarkable. I also feel like boiling religion down to whether-you-believe-in-exactly-one-specific-thing is something that feels very Christian to me. Christian atheists (like me!) act like atheism is a religion. But my Jewish atheist friends (and notable Jewish atheist comedians) still regard themselves as Jewish. I know a Sikh atheist who is still Sikh. I have a Muslim atheist co-worker who observes prayer times.
Atheism is not a religion. A religion is a combination of beliefs, practices, values, sacred places and/or texts, etc. Atheism is one belief if it is even that. I think mostly we just don’t want to hurt Christian atheist feelings by pointing out that we are, in fact, Christian atheists.
