Religion as rationale? Aren't they saying that it poses a potential problem? From what you posted, they're saying we need to watch out for the decline of rationality and scientific thought. They use religion, if anything, as an example of irrationality.
Edit: OK, now I've read more of the article. They write this:
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But symptoms such as the decline of interest in science reflect an intellectual decline that might have more immediately palpable social consequences in areas such as journalism, law, and even public health. It reflects a more general loss of respect for the value of evidence and argument.
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Which I think is great. But then they say things like this:
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In some Western societies, faith in purely irrational belief systems has overtaken belief in religions that have moral and rational substance, as well as cultural roots.
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I'm disappointed that they would put "Western" religions on a pedestal, claiming they're better like a schoolyard argument. All religions seem inherently irrational to me, regardless of where they happened to get popular, or whether they're true or not.
Further, the rise of fundamentalist Christianity in the United States is something that should be troubling to any "rational" person.