Joe, I don't agree that an outsider challenging has little impact. If all questioning of dogma was left to those with a vested interest there is always a danger of bias. By challenging from without attention can be focussed on subjects that might otherwise be ignored.

I don't disagree with people wanting to belong to a community (it's why we're all here to a degree), but when we're born we free of prejudices and opinions, a blank canvas which family, society and culture all have a chance to colour and mark. We are constructs in this sense, and how we react to being formed by these factors is what makes each of us who we are.

Also, the decisions of many religious people affect the lives of all of us in secular society too, and that means everyone should have a say, and be listened to.