I have had the distinct pleasure of singing 1st Bass in a rendition of the Messiah in Choir, sophomore year of high school, and I must say, it was one of the most moving experiences in my entire life. What I did not know, is that  the Messiah was the first piece of music to be written as a sacred and religious text. We only got a cursory glance at a piece's history before delving head first into the notes. That being said, I believe that this piece should definitely be preserved for future generations, if for nothing else than to be able to look back onto the beauty of human faith. That and it would be exceptionally easy to transport, thanks to MP3s ^_^
My question for you is this, do you believe that one needs to be religiously inclined in order to find this piece important? In other words, do you think that the atheist crowd could appreciate this piece of music for what it is?