I think allowing people to make up their own minds is laudable. However, there is a danger in any religion that attempts to evangelize or force their ideologies on others. The danger must be self-evident to anyone who has taken note of those who have been killed because of someone who is a true believer as killer. Not to see this is naive at best and stupid at worst.

Religion brings with it a sense of "rightness" that can be used to do bad things.

I was never force-fed doctrines of any kind. I searched many religious paths and found them wanting. They had a common denominator. They demanded obedience and total acceptance. Sure it's easy to say let people do this or that based on their beliefs but the problem is that there are too many nut-jobs in religion to be one-offs. A reasonable person would examine what the effect of religion has on this erratic behavior such as murder and the justification of it.

Less then murder is the condemnation and rejection given by religious believers to those outside the fold. I think atheists have got to be the most accepting of people because they don't use religion as a tape measure for a person's morality.

Free thought is not free when there are those religious folk who condemn it and they are too numerous to mention today.