I've got plenty of friends who are hostile towards religion. They get on my nerves when they go on a rant, but I understand them pretty well. I was an altar boy as a kid, and went through a lot of years where I had no use for any kind of religion. A lot of it came down to politics, and without getting into that, I'll just say that I still take a pretty strong issue with using religion as a tool to forward what I believe is often a close minded agenda.
But when I see someone go on an anti-religious rant nowadays, it grates on me. It is sophomoric, in my opinion. It is often a young person, college aged - and you'd think they were the first ones to read about science, and figure the rest of us are all ostriches with our heads in the sand. Happens after someone picks up Nietzsche or the like.
It is often a phase, in my opinion. Some hit it earlier than others. My maternal Grandmother didn't go through it till late in life - my Grandfather died and she took up with an artist, and then we got along real well as thats where I was at the time. You never know when someone will go back and read about the Hammurabi code or whatever and click to the allegory of it all. And what with this country's politics being so polarized, the chances of feeling irritated at certain things are high.
I have a couple of friends I'd like to see make it through that stage and drive on into realizing that spirituality and God doesn't mean having to take things literally, and being a seeker has little to do with politics. I think Thoreau is a good middle ground - thats where I started back.
I think as long as we politicize religion in this country it is going to be tough though.