religious exceptionalism

The question of religion is always a sensitive subject among polite company.

In our society, religion is accorded a certain breathing room. A controversial statement, when religiously inspired, is generally excepted from normal criticism because it is a "personal" matter of faith. I wonder whether this religious exceptionalism is healthy for public discourse. Especially when certain groups, motivated by these purportedly "personal" views, attempt to usurp the role of rational inquiry in our society and replace an honest search for answers with static dogma. It's entirely acceptable for Creationists to denounce the wisdom of a century and a half of rational inquiry and replace it with the fossilized, unreasoning dogma of ancient barbarians but considered intolerant to call these ideas out for the blatant nonsense they are. Far from balanced, this "hands-off" attitude toward religion gives believers an unfair advantage as they are never required to justify their beliefs on the same level as any other worldview.