Just my opinion, but thread was not political at all and only mildly religious. I'm certain the thread starter didn't intend for it to become religious at all. The discussion was interesting, informative and quite civil. I saw no problem with it, but of course have no idea if you had received complaints.

Also, just a suggestion, but how about locking rather than deleting and adding a brief commentary, such as "thread locked -- getting unruly" or "locked -- inappropriate topic". Once folks here see that pattern, they'll have a better idea where the lines are drawn. Sorry for the interruption -- carry on...