This is pretty much how I live my life. Full disclosure avoids ugly bait-and-switch or awkward post-jection instead of pre-jection. In the case of my query, I reference a religious figure in it. Classic SF never shied away from incorporating/reenvisioning religions, but so much contemporary sci fi operates in a Roddenberry-esque secular fantasy world. It makes me think agents have reacted to the atomization of publishing (niche religious market publishers, for instance) by avoiding ALL treatments of religion in general market books and not just the pious ones that could also be published by niche companies. I don't see how I could described the changes of human identity, family roles, and psychological self-awareness in my future world without incorporating religious elements.
Two thoughts, though. One: haven't you been regularly getting requests? Am I confusing you with someone else? If so, I'd just accept that my style won't work for everyone. Two: I write slow openers, I like writing and reading characters I get to know a bit before seeing their guts hanging out (so to speak). I think if the voice is strong and interesting enough, and you're writing in a genre where this is accepted, it shouldn't hamper your query efforts. *Please keep in mind I am not an expert, don't work in publishing, have never gotten an agent.
*braces self* I don't need to use it yet, but I thought I might as well get it ready in advance. It's only the second query I've ever written and I'm scared it reads as interesting but not very hooky. *breathes*
I’m in my fifties, too, and it’s been great so far.
