This article provides more accurate tools to engage the public nature of religious and other ideological claims by proposing a distinction between belief-policies, beliefs and practices that could enable more acute ways of locating the aspects of ideology that are considered problematic in a given situation. In addition, the article proposes rules of engagement for how we might deal with these aspects in public discourse. This article provides more accurate tools to engage the public nature of religious and other ideological claims by proposing a distinction between belief-policies, beliefs and practices that could enable more acute ways of locating the aspects of ideology that are considered problematic in a given situation. In addition, the article proposes rules of engagement for how we might deal with these aspects in public discourse.