[edmcnulty101]

> There's no equivalency or even logical basis of comparison between these two statements

They're polar opposites. If one is true the other is false.

However there's truth to both of them.

[riskable]

Actually, no: If the atheists are right then the theists are 100% wrong. There's no middle ground there or "truth to both sides."

If the theists are right... Which theists? Are we talking about polytheists? Single god but multiple instances of it (aka Ahura Mazda in Zoroastrianism)? Monotheism?

If any one of those are right then all the others are wrong. There's not really any ground that exists between these beliefs.

[edmcnulty101]

Religion provides community, it provides a spiritual outlet, it provides ritual, it provides comfort in the face of death.

There's many benefits and truths about religion that don't require an invisible man in the sky to exist.

That was acutually my original point.

TRUTH can be found in both atheism and theism.

[riskable]

I think you're confused. The truth you're talking about exists outside of both of those contexts (theism VS atheism).

Religion is just a collection of beliefs that may or may not involve "an invisible man in the sky". Theism VS atheism are mostly orthogonal to the point you're trying to make.

[edmcnulty101]

People are driven and indeed may have a need for a sense of a higher power.

Having a shared sense of purpose is very powerful for people.

You don't get that from an atheistic Church which is basically just a club where the only shared purpose is disliking something.