I guess I feel like your portrayal of the Christian mindset is largely a straw man. I was a Christian for a long time, and really didn't feel the fear of hell at all - because that wasn't the message that my particular friends, family, and church members espoused.

So I was perfectly capable, as a Christian, to just enjoy a dinner or a movie without guilt.

But if I reflected on atheism, there was indeed a fear of the nothingness that might await me if I didn't have the belief in the moral rules provided by God to give my actions purpose.

When I became an atheist, there was certainly a sense of relief when it came to sexual freedom, and realizing that I didn't have to be ashamed of my desires, even in the slightest.

But that's not the same as having meaning or purpose.