I have to be a closet bright for a while. I'm a Protestant minister with a decidedly naturalistic worldview. I think supernatural beliefs are a big part of the problem, not the solution.

Please do not quote me by name: As a career military officer, I find the military's institutionalized, primarily Christian religious rituals (such as invocations, benedictions, etc.) as part of most ceremonies to be inappropriate and uncomfortable; resistance, however, is greeted with muted shock and the "godlessness" label, and therefore not a team player. 

I think this is a wonderful (and necessary) action and I support it fully. As a "closet atheist" in Mississippi, I hope one day to have the courage to present myself to this "Bible-Belter" society as a proud “Bright.” 

Reading his article made me realize how after 50 years, I still guard my identity as a bright very carefully in social circles - like Dennett, I got tired years ago of every conversation turning into an argument over religion. My wife is an elected official, and I still hold my breath waiting for her opponents to try using the fact that we attend no church against her.