Because of hope:
"Without the ultrarational hopes and passions of religion no society will ever have the courage to conquer despair and attempt the impossible; for the vision of a just society is an impossible one, which can be approximated only by those who do not regard it as impossible. The truest visons of religion are illusions, which may be partially realized by being resolutely believed. For what religion believes to be true is not wholly true but ought to be true; and may become true if its truth is not doubted." -Reinhold Niebuhr, "Moral Man and Immoral Society"

Yeah. It's actually you who's ignorant, but that might just bounce off your head. If you drive a car, it doesn't mean that buses are useless, or that everyone on the bus is ignorant, etc, etc. Religion serves a purpose for many people usually by having something that has a plan for them, a promise of better times, or generally some cosmic force that has their backs. That you hold spite for the religious means you're probably very disconnected from deep struggles people face, often extended over years, or since birth. You don't have to believe in anything. You don't have to hate the religious, but that might serve a purpose for you too in making yourself feel superior! So maybe hang onto that!!? It's working right? So keep it up! Regardless of truth value!!! Have faith in yourrrr owwwwwnnnn supeeeeerrrrrrriiiiiioooooritttyyyy

Oh yeah, and don't bother with the blah blah wars thing. If you haven't noticed, wars are about politics hijacking faith for its ends. But it's simpler to just hate religion. Sooooooooo good luck with that!!

<3
-An Atheist.

...but then I realized that "willful [sic] ignorance" is not solely a religious thing.

As such, I'm fine with people having religious faith as long as they don't push it on others.

Wasn't Tommy Douglas religious (the man who brought us much of what makes Canada what it is today)?

Martin Luther King Jr too?

The current Pope seems like an okay guy, at least compared to a lot of high profile religious leaders.

Also, as another example, there are plenty of wilfully ignorant climate deniers who are more dangerous to the public than the average non-evangelizing religious person.

Anyone who describes themselves as a religion first is just plain strange in my view....you know "......." Canadian.

I feel the same way about people who believe in right, wrong, inheritance, obligation, etc. I mean, don't they know those things don't exist in nature, only in their minds, like so many little controlling angels and devils?

Let's bring back the Inquisition.

I believe in some sort of "God" but not in any small minded organized religion.

Having faith in God is not unlike having faith Maple Leaf fans have that the Leafs will win the Stanley Cup: some may say the faith is misplaced but it makes those fans feel better about life. How does that hurt anyone else? It doesn't. Unless those people are so insecure about their own beliefs that they have to come down on the faithful for actually having the balls to be themselves. Pity the unfaithful fools, not the ones who believe.

Well, you are certainly the poster child for ignorance. What you're saying is that if you don't see the absolute cause for something right in front of you, you don't believe it exists. You also sound scared to acknowledge that there is something so big and powerful out there that you don't understand. Don't worry, that is a common failing of the human race. Sit down and do some reallly deeep thinking about the odds that you even exist, then maybe you will quit trying to understand and control everything in your life. Let go and let God...

There should be an 11th commandment that says "Thou shalt keep thy own religion to thyself." What pisses me off are these holier than thou lunatics that try to shove their dogmatic beliefs and ideals down other people's throats. Enough already! So whether you believe in God, Mother Nature, or the Devil is nobody's business but your own.