Thank you, khalling.
I am in the small group that have read and enjoyed works by both authors. That does not mean I see them as the same or even agreeing much.

five dollar, do you really think Rand's arguments against religion were due to "influence"?
"Faith, as such, is extremely detrimental to human life: it is the negation of reason. But you must remember that religion is an early form of philosophy, that the first attempts to explain the universe, to give a coherent frame of reference to man’s life and a code of moral values, were made by religion, before men graduated or developed enough to have philosophy. And, as philosophies, some religions have very valuable moral points. They may have a good influence or proper principles to inculcate, but in a very contradictory context and, on a very—how should I say it?—dangerous or malevolent base: on the ground of faith." AR 1964 Playboy Interview

It is unfortunate that the one influence that stuck with Ayn Rand from her Communist upbringing was emnity towards religion.