The atheist vs religious debate

So some of my friends on facebook have been having a in depth theological debate off the back of one of them sharing this link quoting Stephen Fry calling God "evil". Cue angry Christian connections debating against the atheist misguided view and arguing against Fry and the atheist and co who posted the link defending Fry and his opinions.

Here's what my view is on religion and why I have, albeit a rather ecclectic, belief system... just as corporate culture trainers Senn Delaney believe that to reinforce positive values and culture changes in a business and its employees, with regular reminders of what those changes are and how to implement them to cement that way of thinking for the good of the company, I believe that having a religion reinforces my moral compass. Yes, everyone has a moral compass and an atheist can argue that they don't need a religion to tell them how to behave and the difference between right and wrong, but I personally feel that attending church (which I don't do nearly enough by the way) provides a person with that regular reminder to adjust their thinking and be a better person. I don't think it matters what your religion or belief system is, be it Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, they all achieve the same thing. Yes, you get priests who have committed heinous crimes against children, and religious extremist leaders who incite violence in the name of God, but that isn't a reason to lose faith in your religion or bad mouth a whole belief system and say religion doesn't work. Every religion has its do gooders and its dark side, just as I'm sure the balance of atheists do too. What a person takes from their beliefs and interprets and puts into action differs and of course you will get those who twist what is taught to suit their own agenda. That's the unfortunate truth of human nature. I'm not saying religious people on the whole are better people in general than atheists, only that having a religion personally gives me the reminder of how to be a better person, something that perhaps without the attendance of church and contact with my vicar, would probably still be there but to a lesser extent as it wouldn't be at the forefront of my mind. Don't get me wrong I'm not a poster child for good Christian behaviour, far from it. I believe in religion and a whole host of other possibly conflicting beliefs such as karma and the law of attraction as well as "hippy" beliefs such as crystal and spiritual healing and so on. But my point is I have beliefs that reinforce and remind me of good moral behaviour that I wouldn't necesarily carry out so conciously if I didn't have a religion.

Now here's the other thing that surprises me when I saw this post and its comments, is how vehemently people will rebuke comments to the contrary when they surely expected a reaction when they posted the link. Surely if a Muslim had posted an article with a public figure stating all atheists are evil for example, it would garner copious amounts of comments to the contrary as well as being branded extremist and inciting hatred. I'm not saying Fry is wrong in giving his opinion, he was asked and responded, but commenting it's fine to have a religion but don't shove it down my throat is kind of hypocritical when you're posting or sharing links that you know would be inflammatory to religious friends and acquaintances? By the way that wasn't a comment the original poster made but was said by someone else. I don't post or share articles which are derogatory to atheist beliefs, yet it seems socially acceptable to do the reverse? Just my point of view and I know many won't agree, but it struck me as a bit hypocritical... so there you go my 2 cents...