going backward to religious intolerance

Here's an outline of some of the "debates" I've read online about the worth of religion:

• Ha! Religion! Bash bash!
• Er...we would prefer if you didn't compulsively beat up on religion based on the slightest provocation.
  
• You religious people keep complaining about sensitivity for your "sacred" fairy tales! How dare you even make a sincere attempt to defend yourselves! I wish the whole lot of you were wiped out! [expletive, expletive]

I'm mystified by the logic behind replacing "intolerant" religions with intolerance for religion. Nor do I comprehend how someone else's vehement hate toward me is expected to convince me that his or her belief system is kinder than mine.

There were times in the past (actually, in the present, too, depending on location) when official belief systems were not only mandated but also strenuously enforced. It was known as religious persecution. Societies chose to pioneer new lands rather than endure it. Needless to say, religious persecution hasn't succeeded.

Now we don't persecute people on account of their belief systems, and all are expected to coexist as harmoniously as they can. This is known as religious freedom, in which unity and tolerance are important values. A "progressive" who advocates the extinction of religious belief systems is a "regressive".