@britexpat thinking differently is not an issue as long as these thinking are not forced, that's where many fail to see, I know a lot of kids (including relatives) that are always forced to memorize the whole lot of the holy scriptures and all about their religion.
So it really doesn't matter what either sides believe except when it's done.
I personally get a heartache when I see such cases,but it doesn't mean we have to disregard it just because some masses got a powerful political and economical lobby.