I'm not an 'atheism is just a religion', I don't believe in Gods, but I do think there secular ideologies.
In the US context, the civil religion, the notions of the constitution, the military, and other institutions have take on a quasi-religious nature. Founding myths that become a spirit regardless of truthfulness.
In general, cult of personalities are clearly examples of secular religion although one that can become supernatural in the case of the Kim dynasty in North Korea.
Ceremonies and traditions that we continue because 'that is just how it has always been done'.
There isn't some binary notion of you are religious or your rationalist, non religious people can hold non-rationalist thought.
Personally I don't really understand what you're on about with the scientific method, the parent didn't mention anything on it.
I am trying to explain the difference between 'not relying on belief' and 'believe the god doesn't exists' or 'believe ** therefore it's also a religion'. Because what op does seems to lump people to the latter. And that is what's missing critically.
Because there is a clean distinction between athism(not relying on belief) and antithesim. Scientific method is a lens of analysis tool and it's beyond the framing of belief as how religious people claims, or even how antithesim people claims. Just like how I would explain the same to the some antithesim group that science doesn't prove the god don't exist. That's still a misuse of the tool of scientific method. To believe the opposite is still a belief, and missing the mark of the scientific method where the most important part is the process not the result.
In general, cult of personalities are clearly examples of secular religion although one that can become supernatural in the case of the Kim dynasty in North Korea.
Ceremonies and traditions that we continue because 'that is just how it has always been done'. There isn't some binary notion of you are religious or your rationalist, non religious people can hold non-rationalist thought.
Personally I don't really understand what you're on about with the scientific method, the parent didn't mention anything on it.