It's been a long couple days for me and I haven't been able to read through this yet. Thanks for taking the time to type out this reply, I'll definitely get to it in the next day or two and see if I have anything to add to the conversation. From what I've read so far, you've given me some food for thought and I want to mull it over.

I agree with you on religion being very similar to liberalism, and on a personal level I see no reason to ascribe to any of it. My main concern is how many people cling to some type of faith and would feel alienated by immediate action against organized religion. That's the contradiction in my mind and my immediate reaction is to err on the side of not alienating people with strong religious beliefs, because that opens up roads for opposition, but you may have addressed that further on. I look forward to finishing reading later to see!