What Susan said. Amen (if I may use such and expression here).

I heard quite an interesting hour-long discussion on my local NPR affiliate a couple of days ago. The interviewees used a couple of terms that I hadn't heard before (although they have apparently been around for awhile). I found them rather usefully descriptive.

Religious totalitarians:   religious sects or individuals who will not tolerate or countenance any views other than their own.

Religious pluralists:   religious sects or individuals who, although they may attempt to persuade others to their viewpoint, value discussion and comparison of different views and find such exchanges enriching.

What makes itself immediately obvious is that totalitarianism or pluralism are characteristics of the believers, not necessarily of the beliefs per se. And it's also obvious that the characteristics of totalitarianism or pluralism apply to non-believers and atheists as well. For proof, simply read some of the posts above.

Religion is full of mystery. In fact, that's what it's all about. But mystery makes some folks very uncomfortable, and they need to have everything spelled out and cast in concrete.

Mystery doesn't bother me. It's one of the things that keeps life from getting dull. If we already knew everything, there would be nothing left to learn, and that would make for a fairly dismal existence, in my opinion. In fact, I tend to agree with this little lady:   CLICKY.   (Besides, check out the dimples!)

God is a verb.
          –Buckminster Fuller

Don Firth