"Stu. With the best will in the world, I couldn't take any lessons from any religion about tolerance."

I would say in their purest form many teachings are quite profound. I become involved in Tibetan Buddhism for a while, and also took an interest in Zen teachings and found both to be extremely, er, enlightening. I would say western medicine is some way behind these traditions i understanding how the mind works in some ways. The sermon on the mount is really quite a beautiful speech; how it's interpreted is highly individual but I would suggest that there is something in there for even the most hardened atheist (or creationist).

However, I was really talking in terms of engaging secular society in a way that means we rediscover wonder and awe in our lives, how we can learn from secular art and literature about how treat our fellow humans. This might mean taking some of the methods used by religion to impart wisdom and reinforced societal bonds, for instance.