"don't you find it odd that a reporter is "relieved" that someone doesn't take religion seriously?"
It doesn't strike me as odd, it strikes me as being run-of-the-mill. And, it's one of the biggest reasons for the decline of mainstream media, and the rise of the various alternative media.
In my opinion, the Arts Section in the New York Times and the Boston Globe demonstrates equally corrosive liberal basis as the editorial pages. Nearly every review takes some kind of drive-by shot at mainstream America (including religion).
I've learned to stay away from Arts Sections altogether. I don't like being sneered at by pretentious twits. For me, that's not entertainment!