credis, actually the fact that I understand something I'm writing about is *not* what's important, as you suggest. If I was writing in a journal, that would certainly be the case, but since I've chosen to write a blog, it's important that others understand, too. What I meant by "shared individual beliefs" is this: We each have beliefs that we hold individually, for our own reasons, but there are certainly others around us who share those beliefs. For instance, I suspect the Big Apple Coalition of Reason is made up of people who have decided individually to believe there is no God, then have reached out to join with others who share that belief.