Truth, Fiction, and Losing Sight of What's Important

As an atheist, I don't care when religious types claim some interpretation of their faith is "not true." After all, this behavior has been with us since phenotypic diversity in Scotsmen [1].  We know very well what the speaker means.  X is something they don't like, and they don't want it associated with Y (usually themselves).  If for some reason an atheist took that claim literally, it should be a mere redundancy, eliciting the response "Yes, of course, that version too." However, some atheists have been taking the claim too seriously. And I find that I do care when atheists waste time combating this well known fallacy, and (more baffling to me) try to argue what interpretation should be considered a believer's "true" faith. This activity suggests they have lost sight of what is important, as it often undercuts efforts required to achieve real, secular gains. Current events have made this a relevant issue to discuss, as it raises (to my mind) a moral question for atheists operating as public intellectuals.

Shouldn't we all "man up"?

Secretary of State John Kerry responded to a recent televised interview of Edward Snowden, by attacking Snowden's moral character.  It was nice to see a public official acknowledge the depth and complexity of moral decision-making in their criticism rather than using simplified moral concepts such as "evil" or "wrong". In this case, Kerry explicitly called into question Snowden's honesty, loyalty, sense of justice, and bravery.  The last one hit a nerve in some quarters due to his calling on Snowden to "man up", but terminology is not what concerned me.  I am more concerned with the accuracy of his analysis... or should I say the extent of his analysis?