From The WaPo

[talon]

The U.S. Constitution guarantees everyone a legal right to practice any sort of faith; it does not demand that religious beliefs be treated as facts. You may tell me that your god tells you the earth is flat, but you do not have the right to teach your beliefs in a public school with my tax dollars. - Susan_Jacoby<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/community/mypost/index.html?newspaperuserid=susan_jacoby&plckuserid=susan_jacoby>

God holds a fixed position in your lives and I pity the fool who'd try to dislodge it. No, no one wants *you* deprived of *your* god -- who has ever attempted that? Has the government forced equal time for Darwin in your vacation Bible school? Has an atheist sued for the right to unpray your prayers at your house of worship? - mrbradwii<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/community/mypost/index.html?newspaperuserid=mrbradwii&plckuserid=mrbradwii>

This is the way most Americans feel. I can't speak for everyone, of course, but I am widely read, have conversations with people from many diverse belief systems and religions (the two are not inclusive), and believe I'm somewhat observant. I feel rather safe in saying that the most Americans of any religion or even of no religion think that we are each responsible for our own beliefs.

So long as no governing body has the authority to legislate beliefs, we remain free to follow whatever religion we want, from no religion at all to becoming a cloistered dedicant to one specific religion. We (supposedly) have the freedom to discuss our beliefs openly, to explore other people's beliefs, to engage is debate over differences and similarities between religions, to form our own religions if none we see suits us, to change religions (pending reactions of our immediate family members, of course), and to mock religions (our own and other's under the freedom of speech amendment). In a secularly governed country, no religion has the authority to force others to adhere to their religion or be forced to obey their religion's dogmas or suffer the spiritual punishments they mete out to their own adherents, although they can try to persuade or recruit others to join them. In a secularly governed country, no religion has the authority to mete out physical punishments even to their own adgerents that are in violation of the laws of said country, although individuals may punish themselves - self-flagellation, for example, but not whipping someone else or coercing them into whipping themselves.

In a secularly governed country like America, the religious, non-religious, agnostics, and atheists have a lot of freedoms:

If a religion/non-religion/agnostic/atheist wants to teach that dinosaurs never existed, they are free to do so within the confines of their temple, church, private school, or other private venue but not in public schools using public money known as tax dollars.

Religions/non-religions/agnostics/atheists are free to run charities using money collected from their adherents and private sources wishing to support their efforts, but not using public money (aka tax dollars).

Religions/non-religions/agnostics/atheists are free to demand a dress code from their adherents - which must be modified to comply with workplace safety and with law enforcement needs; ie, no head coverings for a driver's license or work ID photo although the person may wear said coverings when driving or working (unless it interferes with workplace safety), no long loose hair when working in food service or around machinery in which said locks can be caught, although hair can be worn however outside of the workplace.

Religions/non-religions/agnostics/atheists are free to believe the Moon is made of cheese, and even to use their own funds to try to convince others of the same thing so long as they don't force any non-adherent to say it and mean it and don't use tax dollars to convince others.

Religions/non-religions/agnostics/atheists are free to believe whatever they want about the existence of the soul and the time when a zygote/embryo/fetus is ensouled so long as they don't try to force non-adherents to abide by their beliefs or to use tax dollars in said convincing.

Religions/non-religions/agnostics/atheists are free to set whatever spiritual strictures and beliefs they want on their adherents so long as they do not use tax dollars in enforcing said strictures, use secular laws to enforce said strictures.

Religions/non-religions/agnostics/atheists are free to accept or refuse anyone they wish as adherents so long as they don't force anyone to remain an adherent who wishes to leave their religion.

Religions/non-religions/agnostics/atheists are free to demand a standard of behavior/code of ethics/morals from their adherents so long as they don't demand that non-adherents obey those standards or the practice of those standards/ethics/morals doesn't endanger or interfere with non-adherents.

Religions/non-religions/agnostics/atheists are free to celebrate whatever holy days they wish even if other religions celebrate a different holy day on the same calendrical date so long as they don't demand others celebrate their holy day their way.

Those are an awful lot of freedoms that barely have to be compromised in very limited circumstances. By not bleeding over into secular areas, religions/non-religions/agnostics/atheists have an amazing amount of freedom to do what they want among themselves. I am at a complete loss in understanding why they would want to jeopardize those amazing freedoms by demanding the government get involved or to enact laws that favor one religion's behavior/ethics/morals over another. I am even more amazed when they want the government to enact laws to hold as a weapon over their own adherents to force them to obey their own behaviors/ethics/morals. If their own adherents are disobeying their religious standards of behavior/ethics/morals, I would think they'd be concerned enough to loo at their precepts and determine what's wrong inside their religion and fix it from within than to run begging for some outside force to come the thug on their adherents. But that's apparently just me.


8 million Non-Denominational Christians
2.7 million Jews
2.8 million New Agers
1.9 million Eastern (Buddhist/Hindu)
16 million Unspecified Christians
630 thousand Unitarian/Universalists
105 thousand Friends (Quakers)
34 million Non-religious people (including 3.6 million Atheists/Agnostics)

Almost 30% of the total adult US population. - CharlesADavidson1<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/community/mypost/index.html?newspaperuserid=charlesadavidson1&plckuserid=charlesadavidson1>

Even doubled (since this data was drawn from a decade ago, regardless of the source), CharlesADavidson1 has left out about 172 million Americans, so I doubt the veracity of his data, but if the proportions hold true, then these are intereting stats. It's not a reason for any religion to panic over - pookah puppies, but that's still a lot of adherents in any of the groups. It also highlights the need for our government to remain as secular as possible.