Atheism is the absence of religion.
To be an atheist, is to not have any belief in any type of god(s).

All religions worship some form of a deity, but atheists do not worship anything at all, atheists don't believe in any deities.
The majority of religions have some sort of bible or book in which there are stories about their deity, the stories are usually about the life, death, and resurrection of their deity, and the rules or commandments that they must follow.
Atheist don't have any book like that.
Atheists do have a lot of books that they can read which are written by other atheists, in those books the authors are stating THEIR own personal opinion of atheism, and they usually discuss many of the other religions and why they don't believe in them.
Atheists don't have any rules or commandments to follow, there are no stories of an atheist deity dying and rising again, there are no stories at all.

The majority of religions get together and worship their deity, atheists don't get together and worship anything.
Some atheists do have get-togethers, but it's usually talking to one another about when they knew they didn't believe in the god(s) and religions that their parents raised them up in, and how they came to tell their parents and families that they no longer believed in what they were told to believe in.
I compare telling your family that you're an atheist to that of a homosexual coming out to their families.
It's very difficult for a lot of atheists to tell their parents they don't believe in the god that their parents raised them up to believe in.
A lot of atheists are kicked out of the family home, disowned, I've heard all kinds of horrible things about other atheists telling their families that they no longer believed in a god.

I know it was extremely difficult for me, personally.
I was baptized and raised up in the Salvation Army, protestant Christianity.
My parents took us to pretty much every church function that there was.
I was in the choir, the band, my Dad taught us all how to play brass instruments so that we could play in the church band in which he was the band leader.
I was at church probably 5 out of the 7 day week, that's how much I was part of my families religion.
The day that I told my parents I no longer believed in a god, my father cried, and my mother yelled at me, told me I was blaspheming and that I was going to go to hell if I did not get on my knees, repent, and beg forgiveness for even saying it as a joke.
I told them that I wasn't joking, and my father said that I was grounded until I came to my senses and begged god for forgiveness, my mother yelled at me again, and said that no child of hers was going to be one of those "godless heathens"!
They both grounded me, they both said that I was grounded until I begged god for forgiveness, told me to go to my room and to not come down until they called me for dinner.

Every day, i woke up, ate breakfast, went to school, came home, and went to my room until they called me for dinner.
On nights that I was usually at church practicing in the band or choir, they made me go and sit in the car if I refused to go in and be a good member of the church.
I laid down in the backseat of the station wagon and either read a book or took a nap.
After almost a full month of refusing to beg for forgiveness and participate in church, they finally stopped making me get in the car, but when I was at home, they unplugged the tvs and took the remotes with them, and told me that all I was allowed to do was either sit there in the living room, or go to my room.
All in all, I was grounded for nearly 4 months straight.
I was not allowed to do anything but go to school, come home, do my chores, then go to my room until they called me for dinner, and after dinner, I was sent to my room until the following morning, only allowed out to use the bathroom.
Then they just gave up pretty much, but they still made me sit during prayer at meal times, they still made me set up the manger decorations at Christmas, but they told no one at the church that I had become a godless heathen.
They told people that I was no longer going to church because of my back, (scoliosis) that I was in so much pain that I could no longer hold up my brass horn to play in the band, and that standing for choir hurt too much.
They would rather lie to their church then tell them tat they had an atheist in the family.

To this day, my mother still acts like I am not an atheist.
She still tells me to pray for people, namely my Dad who has a list of ailments, to pray for others, and that she's always praying for me and my sons.
I told my parents that I was an atheist when I was 12, so for 28 years, my parents still behave as though I never said it.
When I post about atheism on my blogs, (they read my blogs) they completely ignore the posts.
For 28 years, they act like I never said it, they act like I never say it, they act like I'm just joking, but they pray for me daily, they pray to their god that he forgive me for my blaspheming ways and to allow me into heaven when I die anyway, that they vouch for me being a good person who has simply lost my way.

My father always tells me that when I'm on my death bed, or facing death, that I will repent and beg for forgiveness.
I have faced death a few times during my spine surgeries.
During my last surgery in September 2008, I died on the table twice.
Before each of my surgeries, they asked at the hospitals if I wanted a preacher to come and pray with me, I always said no.
I died on the table twice and it still has not swayed me.
I saw no white lights, I heard no booming voices, I was dead on the table twice for a total of 7 minutes.
I heard and saw nothing of a god.
All those stories people tell of dying on the surgical table and seeing the white light and hearing the voice of god is pure bunk.

I am atheist.
I have no belief in any god or gods.
I died twice for a total of 7 minutes, I saw no white lights and heard no booming voices.
My atheism is not a religion.
My atheism is a pure and total disbelief in any god or gods.
I have personal experience with death and it only proved to me that there really is no god.