Why can only club members complain?

Believers are the worst critics of belief - as in, they more often than not fail to see anything problematic that may be going on in the name of belief. So, when a Supreme Court bench, listening to the Sabarimala entry case, stated that a person who does not subscribe to a religion has no business questioning its customs, we are in slippery territory. So, only smokers may challenge tobacco advertising? Only tax evaders may critique income-tax? Only ghosts may complain about haunted houses?

Religion, like plumbing, affects everyone whether they believe in the whole jing-bang or not. When customs spill into public life - say, by barring women from temples, or prescribing rituals that collide with decency - outsiders or atheists have every right to say: 'Excuse me, is this pipe leaking into my living room?' To insist otherwise is to confuse faith with feudal foppery. If a religious practice is perceived to be cruel, discriminatory or simply ridiculous, why should only 'insiders' be allowed to object? There's no point dressing up bigotry or cruelty as devotional rules and regulations for only club members. Non-believers, far from being interlopers, are also quality-control inspectors. They poke holes, ask awkward questions, and remind us that customs are not immune to common sense and good action. After all, even gods benefit from a good audit.