Personally, I also find the definition of atheism given here to be in bad taste. There's no reason why an atheist can't believe in ghosts or anything else, they just can't believe in supreme entities. This definition gets atheism confused with skepticism and while they are very similar (skepticism does tend to lead one to atheism if they were not already there to begin with), one is very much an extreme of the other.
I think religion serves as a very important tool to help people understand morality and tradition. Of course, it is not the only way or should it be, and I don't mean to imply that those without religion are immoral as obviously, even godless pack animals have learned basic morals.
High five! Deism!
Kaiousei no Senshi,
All belief systems whether atheist or not have some degree of skepticism in them. They believe only in their own rigid intellectual views to the exclusion of other things. This is the problem with religion as a belief system in general though - it closes off the individual to experience, to life and limits growth...whatever the beliefs are! They are always barriers to experience and the thing just remains in ones thoughts and dreams. It rarely becomes ones reality. People don't reach the core of their being because they remain on the boundary of their existence.
I think this is why individuals like Lao Tzu and the Buddha were, initially, very hesitant when it came to the task of teaching others - there was every danger that it would be misunderstood and do more damage than it would help. The danger was always that the essential truth of what they were saying would be warped into a lie the moment they spoke it. The question for them was always 'how do I express the inexpressible?' It's an impossible task! Inevitably then they were bound to be misunderstood by some and as with the case with Jesus, Mohammed and people like Heraclitus...they suffered in the same way.
When a person finds the truth themselves then the real morality rises also, otherwise that too remains a program, something they are forcing on themselves or holding in their thoughts. Until then there is always the possiblity for immorality as well as morality - but neither are the ideal and so people live in hypocrisy.
As for tradition we just have to ask 'does it still work?' If it doesn't then discard it. If it does, keep it. A carpenter cannot make a door using broken tools! I'm all for tradition but if we keep things just for the sake of keeping them then there will always be danger and the potential for something to go wrong or not work as it should.