The only prob I have is how to screen candidates to root out the fanatics and fundamentals from the moderate and regular conservative folks. Unfortunately, these two subgroups share common traits or values and abstaining from drinking is one of them.
What I said was simply that I'd need to extract more info from the candidate to make sure I'm making the right decision.
It is not about anti-religion or religious folks but a policy not to hire crazy and unstable people. I don't want female employees to feel uncomfortable at the company because of a new hire because he might have some objections to how women should dress or debating whether people should eat or have a cup of coffee during Ramadan.
This sort of stuff is unacceptable and I might say that it is not a controversial point for many people. I experienced first hand how some fanatics could drive people out of an org because of their conduct and social antics & crusades. The org lost very competent people to the competition because a fanatic thought he was on some holy mission to transform the workplace into a utopia just to feel good about himself. Needless to say, the place turned into a living hell and he also was in a position of authority to do that and we couldn't do anything about it before it was too late.
So sorry if my opinion shattered your idealistic view of the world around us but it's way way better for me not to hire a "rockstar" fanatic and see people leave in drove because of his social toxicity and to stick to normal and skilled people who would fit and blend well with the group without friction and uneasiness.