I enjoy reading or listening to Giles Fraser, another open minded Church of England priest is Richard Coles who hosts Saturday Morning Live on Radio 4.
I believe that religions begin after someone has a deep spiritual experience, but its difficult for later followers who rely on interpreting early writings or tradition without the founders presence. Of course experiences still happen, near death, mystical, psychedelic etc. they can be life changing, but tend to make people more caring and open, definitely not fundamentalist about their views.
We live in a multicultural society, a good read is The World's Religions by Huston Smith, its a classic, sort of Cooks Tour that concentrates on the best of that religion, over 50 years old but has been revised, the preface alone is worth reading.