Reply #47: Lots of quotes available. But the MORE IMPORTANT POINT is...

[eppur_se_muova]

that the founding fathers were motivated largely by a desire to KEEP POLITICS OUT OF RELIGION, and that can be done only be keeping religion out of politics. They were well aware that many colonists belonged to splinter Protestant groups who had no desire to be "brought back into the fold" of the Anglican Church, which many had left Britain to escape. If any ONE religion/creed/sect is recognized by gov't, that religion can then impose its views on others, or at least restrict their expression of their own views.

See Susan Jacoby's "Freethinkers" for more discussion of this. Jacoby is one the few who emphasizes this point enough. Too many who argue against Christianization of government take the tack that "we aren't Christians, therefore the gov't shouldn't be Christian". This argument cuts no mustard with the fundies; to them it just goes to show what's wrong with the country. The more subtle point -- admittedly a little harder to get across in a shouting match -- is that if you open a door in the wall, it swings both ways. Let *any* religious agendas into gov't and the result will be a thoroughly <irony> Darwinian </irony> struggle for supremacy. My money would be on the best organized, most ideologically coherent, and most experienced faction to win out -- and that would mean the Roman Catholich Church. Funny that Protestant extremists never seem to consider that angle. I doubt very much that they would be happy with an American gov't that follows the Pope.


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