In a society like ours, faith should be a consideration, such as whether one takes sugar in one's tea. It is entirely a matter of private conscience and taste and of no consequence to anyone else. Only when fundamentalists decide they wish to start to force their feelings on others, even to the point of murder, should the state intervene to protect the liberties of the people. Religiosity should have no part in politics – the comments to the contrary by Baroness Warsi on Thursday were fatuous, opportunist and shallow – but individual politicians are free, in their private lives, to do what they like. The atheists have, though, set a bad example by becoming so unpleasant about the Pope. Let's just hope the religious fanatics don't follow their example.