The recent study conducted from the University of Minnesota portrayed an extremely disturbing intolerance of people who label themselves atheists by the American public. Much of this intolerance comes from mistaken beliefs about atheists: 1) That atheists are anti-theist, intolerant of anyone who believes in god(s) or of beliefs in god(s). That is not necessarily true. While there are some public atheists who strongly oppose theistic beliefs (Dawkins and Harris, for example), there are many more who just do not think that people's theism or lack of same is all that important in evaluating them, that it's more important to evaluate people on what they do and how they treat others.
2) That atheists are necessarily angry or bitter people. They are not. Not believing in god(s) does not in and of itself make someone feel abandoned or alone.
And the most offensive stereotype of all.
3) Atheists think that anything goes. They do not. It is not necessary to believe in an authority from on high to believe in treating others as you would have them treat you (the Golden Rule has been described by several cultures, and is not unique to Christianity), or even better yet treat others as they would like to be treated (the Platinum Rule).
Brenda Frei was wonderful. Simply being herself, a gentle, caring woman who loves her family and cares about others, and by accurate describing the definition of "atheist" as someone who lacks a belief in god(s), she refuted the hurtful beliefs listed above, and Morgan Spurlock performed a major public service by making this episode.