I don't think I can give very good answers to your questions. I'm much better at morality discussion closer to the object-level.
But could it be that there are some equally false beliefs -- perhaps even equally "crazy" by whatever criteria you use to differentiate "craziness" from mere falsity -- that you don't recognize as such, and you might be sharing yourself?
Sure, but I wish to have correct beliefs.
In particular, are there some such beliefs that are, unlike traditional religious beliefs, universally shared by respectable people in your society, to the point where it's unwise to be on record as questioning them?
There are lots of things I don't say, especially during job interviews.
are you sure that you would come off as innocent if similar criteria for the assignment of blame were applied to all the institutions to which you extend your support and allegiance?
Actually, yes. I'm pretty sure I am not a supporter or voluntary member of any organization that causes as much harm as the Catholic church.
AngryParsley:
Sure, but I wish to have correct beliefs.
So does everyone, at some level. But in my experience, whenever I felt superior over people because I didn't share some of their beliefs that seemed crazy to me, after several years I'd usually feel embarrassed on recollection, considering how much even stupider stuff I believed myself at the same time. From what I've observed, once you've assessed someone's character and abilities relevant to the business at hand, making conclusions based on their general religious and ideological beliefs is a fool...
Let's say you are interviewing a candidate for a job. In casual conversation, the candidate mentions that he is a member of a rather old and prestigious country club. You've never heard the name of the club before.
You look up the country club afterwards, and are surprised by what you read. The club refuses membership to homosexuals. It revokes the membership of couples who use birth control. Leadership positions are reserved to unmarried males.
The candidate is otherwise competent. Under what conditions would you hire him? Would you want a law passed banning hiring discrimination based on country club membership?
(The country club is analogous to a nicer version of the Catholic church. I left out a couple bad things.)
Religious discrimination is illegal in many parts of the world, and I think that's probably a good thing. Still, keeping this at the object level (no meta-rules or veils of ignorance) it seems to me that discriminating against religious people is fine. I'm curious what other people think.