Do Atheists Worship?

This is a common trope among some believers, often served in the form of "Atheists are religious too" or some other such delivery.

If challenged on this point, what usually follows is a watering down of the word "worship". As just happened in a discussion on the original thread, a person responded to me:

"...I view worship as whatever we deem worthy of our time, attention, adoration, money, and resources. Not all worship is bad, for believers “it” shouldn’t be worshipped more/higher than God. I do sincerely believe for example, modern sports obsession “for some” is a form of worship. From decals to literal idol statues, blankets, hours of focus, clothes, people will spend their time money and focus to a point of obsession... almost like we are hardwired that way..."

So they are now putting on par that what they think and feel about Jesus with what I think and feel about disc golf. Is that really the digression that believers like Keller want to make?

I don't think it is. I think their elevation of the word worship is much higher in usual circumstances... but for some reason, it bothers them that unbelievers don't "worship" anything. So, when this topic comes up, they broaden the definition of the word. Lots of believers I know partake in this linguistic sleight of hand. I think these believers need to do a little introspection into what drives them to such an approach.