I think it should be considered a moral decision to hold an open position on things we don't have adequate evidence for. A lot of my angst comes from the fact this position is considered a default sin. 

The idea it's all either sprung from 'nothing' or is the work of a human style god is such a resounding bunch of crap. 

Then there's the fact that a discussion group like this one allows people from godly backgrounds who don't believe to feel they're not alone. That's important.

Ordinarily, I couldn't really care less what other people believe, as long as it doesn't affect me or society or the planet in a negative way. But unfortunately, we've seen time and time again that a 'live and let live' approach to things like religion doesn't work, because religious believers simply cannot leave their faith-based beliefs out of reality-based situations. 9/11 was the wake-up call for me, proceeded by Bush's 'election', and followed by his astonishing re-election. When religious nuts fly into buildings, and the so-called 'leader of the free-world' is another religious nut (voted for by a largely religious population in the US) who is willing to start massive wars based on ideology.... well, let's just say that when peoples' fantasy-world beliefs influence their real-world actions, we have a serious problem. And the only long-term solution is to get to the root of the problem -- faith-based belief. Religion just happens to be one of the biggest sources of these beliefs, so that's the highest priority nut to crack.

Since then, I've found many other reasons to continue pursuing this goal, and your post covers several of them.

Ultimately, I'm looking to bring about a better future than the one I currently feel we are headed towards. Things need to change, things can be changed, things are changing. A lot of people feel apathetic, like "How can any one person change anything?" It's true, one person alone can't change much. But one person who helps to champion some good ideas can spread those ideas to many people. And many people together -- sharing common ideas and goals -- can definitely change things. So that's what I try to do, champion good ideas over bad ones.

http://www.atheist-community.org/atheisteve/?id=60

Tracie Harris has drawn a lot of awesome "Atheist Eve"-Cartoons (check them out! Link above), but this one remains one of my all-time favorites.

I bother because I want a lawless society where everything goes and everyone has no morals. How else are we going to as atheists live up to their stereotypes? Jeeze wizz, I am tired of people blasting me merely because I like barbecuing kittens.

Either that, or I am tired of people claiming Santa exists and affecting global politics by voting and killing in the name of their fictional friend in the sky. It would be nice for humanity if they would treat their superstitions like a pass time instead of a global game of capture the flag.

Uhm...I think you profoundly misunderstood the cartoon ^^ The right part is the argument, and left part is the answer. A somehow similar idea is

However, you don't really need religion for terrorism. Anyone remember the Oklahoma city bomber?

Name eight But general points please.

Well, that's their own fault. Imagine the next Political Candidate telling himself and his supporters "Door knocking? Oh no, we don't want to annoy the people." And then he moans about how nobody votes for him despite putting much more "effort" in being polite and non-evangelical. My ill-tempered answer to such a candidate would be "What?! you can't get your ass in gear and even try to sell this as a pro-argument for you? I'm a free citizen, I can think for myself, and I see that you avoid getting in talk with self-thinking people. Man, what do you think are the conclusions I will draw from that?"

Steve Edwards gave insight into his experiences with door knocking ( http://silkcityindependent.blogspot.com/2009/09/knocking-down-doors.html ). Here's one excerpt:

"So if your house has one or more people who ALWAYS vote, you knock on that door, no matter what. And it is interesting. When running as an Republican, I've met Democrat's who wouldn't think of voting for the Democrats. I've met Democrats who ran me off their property and told me I should be ashamed of myself for being an Republican. It runs the gambit. Same with Republicans... I've had them tell me I have their vote... and I've had them tell me they would NEVER vote for a Republican again... For those that haven't done it, knocking on doors is almost always fun in that something new will happen every year. I've met crazy people, people who want to know my views on abortion when I'm running for the [Board of Education], people who want me to privatize the whole thing... and the stories are incredible some times. Anyway, unless you've done it, you can't really appreciate how odd the whole experience can be. But mostly you meet nice people. And the largest subgroup I've met are folks who say something like, "Well, you knocked on my door, so I'll vote for you." One on one works."

Also, one should have a look at some basic rules ( http://www.campaignpros.com/adspice/door-knocking-checklist-what-every-political-candidate-should-bring ) like the following:

"This may sound like a no-brainer, but make no mistake, you will be asked questions when the door opens. The two most common questions will be “What are your ideas and plans?” and “What qualifies you for this position?”.  These two questions might be wrapped up in the more broad question, “Why should I vote for you?”. You MUST be able to answer these questions.  Simply put, if you can’t tell a voter why she should vote for you, don’t bother adding your name to the ballot. Be prepared to share your platform (three issues you stand on) and qualifications (short resume of qualifications).  You can also talk about the neighborhood and history of the city or district.  You not only have to be qualified, you have to be personable and available."

Now any reasoning which amounts to nothing more than "My position? My position is that you don't vote for the other guy! He's insane and evil!" is not exactly impressive, let alone convincing. If atheists ever thought about knocking doors, many of them would have to ask themselves for the first time what other arguments they have. They couldn't retreat to "You're dumb, I'm smart!" or "Show me your colors now!" or "I'm a victim, have sympathy!" or any else of these maneuvers, which are far from being rare. They'd have to think about contents instead of slogans, about confidence instead of arrogance, about debating instead of fighting, about listening instead of preaching. Maybe *that's* the reason why they aren't doing it?

In the series West Wing, Presidential Candidate Santos said "Senator Vinick is very quick to attack my plans, but the Presidency is about more than just saying no, no, no. You have to say yes to something. You have to do something." I'd vote for him.

*gg* No need to be that harsh to yourself Tracie Harris publishes only once a month, but she has done so since October 2004, so there are 72 cartoons by now. I'm sure you will find her work quite entertaining.

I agree with you that only by keeping convictions falsifiable, one can rightly assume that one has taken best measures to ensure their correctness. Good attitude

Please take your time. I don't doubt that you will easily find more than eight reasons, but I'd like to hear the eight reasons that you consider to be the most important and well-thought-out ones to you. Also, I'd appreciate if you write at the beginning of that post what definition of "religion" you use. Thanks in advance for the upcoming input

I bother for the same reason that I don't steal or kill... because I know the difference between right and wrong, and I feel that its important to stand up against those who would do harm to others.....