Good post! My opinion of her is she had only a portion of the package she might have had otherwise had she at least been open to the possibility of faith in God....therefore she herself took that mantel as I see it.
I didn’t care for the woman and noticed how she danced around questions which would have given some insight into her motives.
Ayn Rand considered collectivist priests as witch doctors who allied with the "brute" (dictators) to controll the masses and rendered freedom unattainable. Think of Ayatollas and dictators in Iran and the Islamic mideast in general and the lack of democratic freedom there and you have what she feared. Her view was grounded in a reality of contemporary times and history. Think Islam is the only problem? Check out India where Hindus kill christians. Check out Northern Ireland where Catholics and Protestants blow each other up.