I think there are far better forums for political/religious discussions. My strong belief (backed by experience) is that those threads should be closed / deleted, as they inevitably lead to heated discussions or flamewars. I don't percieve these as beneficial for the community and the environment on these boards.
As for letting more of the uncommercial tut-links remain, I'm all for that. I can however understand the need for removing advertising for other commercial sites as this is a business.
My 2 cents.