Which religious dude do you most prefer the politics of?

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

So being an atheist means you can't like a religious persons viewpoints?

I can like a religious persons viewpoints. There are a lot of very intelligent people out there in the world. I don't have to care about it though. And I certainly won't care about the archaic viewpoints of potentially fictional people from thousands of years ago. (that last line in particular refers to Jesus)

Mythicism is as fringe as climate change denialism.

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

So being an atheist means you can't like a religious persons viewpoints?

I can like a religious persons viewpoints. There are a lot of very intelligent people out there in the world. I don't have to care about it though. And I certainly won't care about the archaic viewpoints of potentially fictional people from thousands of years ago. (that last line in particular refers to Jesus)

Mythicism is as fringe as climate change denialism.

No, it's a lot more fringe than climate change denialism.

...true, actually.

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

I think something similar could be said of Buddha, though I know less about him.

It could, although Buddha advanced this idea more through example than through openly addressing any of the particular issues of his time. It's worth noting however that the polity of the early Buddhist sangha bore some resemblance to that of Buddha's homeland, the Shakya Republic.