First, the article itself:

Atheists suggest belief in God is irrational and atheism is rational

Atheism is NOT a belief system. Ms. Golden's attempt to label it as so shows that she hasn't thought about it very hard. If atheism is a belief system, then "not collecting stamps" is a hobby and "bald" is a hair color. The reason Harris says the word shouldn't exist is because, other than "sane," we don't have a specific word for someone who doesn't believe in elves, leprechauns, banshees or other mythical creatures. Atheism doesn't mean "I BELIEVE in this set of rules," it means "Yes, I've heard your claims, and I'm not buyin' it, because they're not realistic claims."

And as for the dramatic life changes that would occor should the claim of God be definitively proven or disproved, consider this: I used to be a confirmed Catholic. When I became an atheist, almost nothing changed except for dropping the weight of that ominous looming mindreader in the sky. I still help people in need, donate money, and refrain from stealing or anything else illegal or immoral.

If God were to be proved, yes, I would change in a heartbeat to do his or her bidding. But this won't happen because there is no god up there. If it were to be proven that there was no God, I seriously doubt that the religious people of today would start killing and stealing with wild abandon. You don't see the members of the National Academy of Sciences running around committing heinous crimes, and 93 percent of them are atheists. More likely than not, freed people would realize that there is no afterlife, making life on Earth so much more valuable. They would realize that no is coming to save us, so making life better for our children is up to us. Wars would cease to be so prolific. Who would willingly die for a politician if there was no heaven?