Why do atheists say that they don't believe in God, when the literal meaning of atheism is "afraid of theism"? Why would they be afraid of something that doesn't exist?

https://www.quora.com/Why-do-atheists-say-that-they-dont-believe-in-God-when-the-literal-meaning-of-atheism-is-afraid-of-theism-Why-would-they-be-afraid-of-something-that-doesnt-exist “Atheists”, in Western cultures, are usually people who are afraid of Christians, quite specifically. The Christian concept of an all-powerful, all-good God who one must have absolute faith in, or face eternal Hellfire, is simply not very appealing at all, to many people! This shouldn’t really be so surprising, should it? So, sure, atheists aren’t really afraid of the concept of “God”, per se. They’re afraid of Christians, and the Christian God. Often, “atheists” are perfectly comfortable with the polytheistic and pantheistic conceptions of Hinduism and Buddhism.