It always stands out to me that whenever there's a debate between "religion" and "atheism" I have not once seen a philosopher specializing in metaphysics represented. Even moral philosophers tend to get short shrift. I can't help but feel that one of the richest strains of human thought is intentionally being shut out away from the public eye.
Honestly, it might sidetrack the discussion. The religion / atheism debates usually center, I think, around empirical concerns, as in where knowledge comes from. Does it come from fancy and imagination or from what we can observe, test, and predict. Metaphysics would probably be too abstract whereas the debates you mention are usually more about what is concrete and real versus what is not. Which you probably don't like at all, but because we're in a technological and rational age, it's the way it is, at least amongst educated folks.
Why is there an almost total absence of philosophy in public discourse and how can that be addressed?
A lot of things are "missing" from public discourse, IMO. I think philosophy, which might interest people like us here to varying degrees, is too abstract for most folks. And it might fail the "so what?" test.
