Why do certain people hate atheists?

[porphyrian]

32. Many southern Christian sects use fear to motivate their flocks.

Most members of those flocks don't even realize it. It's sort of the religious equivalent of driver's ed films, but all the time. Fear, fear, fear, then the authority figure (Pastor/Reverend/Grand Wizard/whatever) points to a group such as atheists as a negative example, what everyone should fear, and that group ends up being the target of the cumulative anxiety of the flock. Since many people deal with their fear by expressing anger (which they perceive as less weak than cowardice), this is a dangerous practice. However, most people do not act on it overtly, so no one has seriously called them out on it, except in individual cases, so the practice continues.

Long term experience of fear can be very detrimental to a person's health. It affects their ability to be rational and makes them susceptible to suggestion. It doesn't seem to be a method Jesus would approve of, based on their Bible.