Question

Happy Independence Day! (Of course, a holiday only in the sense that Ben-Gurion and the Rabbi of Ponevezh celebrated it.)
What does the Rabbi think about the possibility that it might actually have been preferable, intentionally, not to choose a religious woman, in order to preserve the feeling that existed for many years that studying the Hebrew Bible is not only a matter for religious people?
During the quiz she said many times, “with God’s help,” “with Heaven’s help,” and the like.
And at the end, when they announced the winners, she said to them: “I can’t raise your hands for you (as is customary when announcing winners), but raise your hands.”
It felt like she was forcefully externalizing it, and even if she wasn’t, that was how it came across—noticeable and outwardly demonstrative.
I felt there was no reason for secular people to watch the quiz, and it felt like a repentance seminar.
(I’m not dealing here with the actual study of the Hebrew Bible itself, but rather whether there is any logic in specifically choosing a secular host, for example—in short, whether to give the event a more state/national character and try not to give it a religious feel, or to choose the host who is most suitable for the role for whatever reasons they may have, and if she is religious then that shouldn’t matter.)
Thank you very much, and I hope I made myself clear.