Cathy, we don't 'have a go' at believers - we just don't share their beliefs. We are sometimes very critical of the actions of some religious organisations, for example the way the Catholic church failed to deal with many years of child abuse. This did not mean we were critical of individual Catholics, most of whom were as sickened as the rest of us.
Other denominations have been equally guilty of colluding in child abuse, such as sending children out to Australia to be used as virtual slaves.
Some beliefs do not deserve respect , such as the commonly held belief in most world religions that women are not capable of taking an exactly equally role in the life of the religion.
Do you respect the belief that anybody who wants to cease to be a muslim should be put to death?
There is a difference in respecting an individual and respecting their beliefs. Most of us who are atheists are very happy for believers to be able to follow their own religion as long as there is no effort to impose their beliefs on us through the law. That is why we do not think religious beliefs should be allowed to influence the laws on same-sex marriage, divorce, abortion, contraception, the right to die, etc. If believers want to follow their own church's guidance on these matters, that is up to them, but their beliefs should not be imposted on everybody. Most of my friends who are believers agree with me in this.