Why do certain people hate atheists?

[djean111]

11. I used to think they just felt badly that I was going to roast in their hell.

But then I realised that should give rise to sorrow, not anger.
So then I thought maybe they need validation at some level or something like that - so, honestly, best avoided if religion seems to be the only thing they want to discuss. Or rant about.

I think the hatred of the Crusades and the Inquisition and the Holocaust was fomented by those who wanted power and money.
Think it a bit funny that some of the very same people who dislike my atheism are making dire warnings about Muslims and Sharia law - evidently drawing parallels is beyond them. Yes, I know about stoning and such, but that is just a matter of degree - and not so different from burning at the stake or skewered by a Crusader, methinks.

Oh, and I am one who doesn't even think a theist needs to prove anything at all - unless they are trying to force their beliefs onto my life. (Ever notice how many don't even practice what they preach?)
Whether I believe in their particular god or not shouldn't matter to whatever reality is, just like my NDE doesn't need outside validation.
Or maybe it is a quantum mechanics type of thing.......observation affecting reality. Who really knows? As differentiated from belief, of course!