I believe you are right when you say atheism is the absense of religion. That makes since to me. But, I still believe it requires huge faith to be able to look all around us seeing the human body, the awesome things of nature, the skies, etc. trying to figure how it all happened without a creator. The proof is all around us.
You are absolutely right about something..I do not look down on you. And I do not condem you. It is my hope to be an example of what I believe to be true.