Scott nailed it. While topics that are very political or religious in nature almost always get closed (and I fear might be the fate of this one too if things continue in this direction), that happens only when the direct insults and hatefulness starts to get thrown around. Religious threads often get shut down quickly because they often veer in the direction of insults (or some other speech that violates the terms of service, sometimes things get extremely inappropriate in those threads, I suppose to 'shock' the more conservative readers, I dunno) very very quickly. Political threads usually hit that too, but usually it takes a while, or they quietly taper off.
We generally do suggest topics that are religious or political in nature be kept to a minimum, but, many of us have made some great friends and acquaintances here and sometimes we like to discuss OTHER things. We've never closed a thread purely because of it's religious, political, or otherwise content. We've closed many, many threads, however, when the mud started to fly. We have closed, infracted, and banned people from both sides of the political and religious spectrum all for the same reasons. If you can respect the other members, chances are, you'll never ever have a problem. There are plenty of forums that are not like that, but that's not this one, we do REQUIRE that people respect one another and make it civil, and the content reasonable. That's not for ANY religious reason, NOR for any political reason. That's just because it's what the MAJORITY of the members have always wanted, and because it's what has worked so well for us. There are lots of places where anything goes and some are more comfortable there- not a problem. But this is one place where we keep a lid on things and some of us prefer that environment. That's why there are several different forums out there!
I won't comment again on my signature or anything else like that. We've covered that already in another thread!
But, to get back on topic! I really think this debate sounds a lot like the helmet debate. You have those who believe in prevention AND protection. You have others who believe, with enough protection, you don't need prevention (like full gear wearers speeding down the highway in between cars at 180). There are others who believe, with enough prevention, you'll never need protection. And you have those who believe the protection is morally wrong, or just silly and unnecessary. Nothing wrong with any of those viewpoints, we're all adults and can make our own decisions!
I have faith that this thread will turn back in the direction it was before, informative debate without insults. I think we can do that!