why do i analyze religion?
because religion was the lenses through which i saw the world before, and i think it has been a waste of time. and though no one can be blamed but myself, or in fact everything can be blamed, it now interests me both as an interesting and powerful phenomenon, as something that is hyped up these days, and perhaps because it still holds a menacing place in me.

but why?

Tom might be a "believer" though in his heart he doesn't really reconcile the facts, because he doesn't want to. And why should he be obliged to? So he believes the world is millions of years old with dinosaurs in the past, while also believing that the world is 6000 years old. He believes God created Adam and Eve, though it's fine if it's literal or metaphorical, and also believes in the gist of evolution that man came from common ancestors of monkeys. He knows the bible has inconsistencies and wouldn't really bet much that the bible, metaphorically, dropped from the skyl. But he doesn't want to pursue this. Why, and why not? Maybe he doesn't want to complicate things? That's not a bad thing, not a good thing either. It is good or bad only when you consider it so.

So why do atheists try to break down what they consider a myth?

I think the good reasons are that religion has become dangerous is many respects. They determine the way you live. They can make you radicals who will willingly blow up the world, or let it happen, to bring about the end. They also tell you how to live and act as an intolerance in society, or a divider. A divider is not necessarily a bad thing. But an intolerance force, maybe. It tells you that you can't be gay, you shouldn't watch this movie, you are guilty, you must never lie, it tells you that lying in a certain context is alright, you should not hang out with certain people, you must not masturbate, they will burn in hell unless you make them believe what you do, and much more. For these reasons, religion should be brought into a light.

There will be collateral damage. There are those who have lived their life by a religion and destroying their religion destroys their way of life. Indeed religion is often the center of a culture and tearing down a society's way of life may not be what is intended. Besides, if there is no absolute truth, why is wrong with living according to a religion even if it is a myth? And tell me, what's wrong with living it without knowing it is a myth? Why are atheists taking the holy crusaders' path? The crusaders believed Christianity was right; do atheists believe rationality, knowledge, and freedom from myths are on some scale a movement towards "rightness"? Is self-awareness that important?

What truth?
Only our truth, as decided by us.
Are truths not allowed to conflict?