Noticed this once again in the Scientology thread and, rather than derail that thread, thought I'd rant here.
People are quoting Wikipedia as if it is fact. It is not. It is a great resource for getting an idea about something or, better, getting an idea of where to look. Use it to support an opinion, for sure. But don't state it as fact, please. It's open to writeups by people with absolutely no idea what they're talking about. IMO, the writeups on Wikipedia are no more valid than the opinions people are stating here. It's definitely a good resource if used properly, but it is NOT fact.
For example, people arguing about definitions of atheism quoted wikipedia:
Atheism, in its broadest sense, is the absence of belief in the existence of
deities. A narrower definition includes only those who believe that deities do not exist, and excludes those who hold no position on the question (see
agnostics and other
non-theists). In other words, an "atheist" can be defined as either:
- A person who does not believe the proposition "At least one god exists"; or
- A person who believes the proposition "No god or gods exist".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atheism
Merriam-Webster, on the other hand, says:
Main Entry:
athe·ism 
Pronunciation: 'A-thE-"i-z&m
Function:
noun
Etymology: Middle French
athéisme, from
athée atheist, from Greek
atheos godless, from
a- +
theos god
1 archaic : UNGODLINESS, WICKEDNESS
2 a : a disbelief in the existence of deity
b : the doctrine that there is no deity
http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/atheism
Dictionary.com says:
a‧the‧ism /ˈeɪ
θiˌɪzəm/Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[ey-thee-iz-uhm]Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun 1.the doctrine or belief that there is no God. 2.disbelief in the existence of a supreme being or beings.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/atheism
The Cambridge Online Dictionary says:
atheist
[Show phonetics]
noun [C]
someone who believes that God does not exist
atheistic
[Show phonetics]
adjective
atheism
[Show phonetics]
noun [U]
the belief that God does not exist
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/defi...ist*1+0&dict=A
Now I'm not sure what the origins of
www.dictionary.com are, but Cambridge and M-W are pretty solid and what all three of them have in common is that atheism requires a belief in the absence of God.
The wikipedia reference that was used allows for unsurety about the existence of God, which the respected websites do not. Something as simple as the definition of a word like this can heavily affect a discussion, as people end up arguing with flawed premises.
/rant