America's religious heritage

You will find numerous editorials (1,2,3,4 just to give you a small variety) from the redneck right trying to support things like ten commandments monuments at courthouses based on their historical context and the religious background of this country. Our founding fathers did have their weaknesses but one of them was not religious zealotry. They drew up a government based on the Enlightenment in Europe and they themselves were mostly Deists.

Despite the fact that we have a historically-religious-tolerant country that formed out of a secular government movement we now find ourselves in one of the most religious nations on earth. So therefore there is no correlation between a state religion and the number of people who consequently practice it. Having the ten commandments at a courthouse is not only contrary to what our laws are based on but a state endorsement of religion seems to have no influence whatsoever on the direction of the culture or society.

If we were actually basing our laws on Leviticus in the old testament our prisons would be overflowing. Well it is more like the graveyards would be full of tiny caskets, as biblical law states all smart alec kids must be put to death. The supreme court will hear this case on Wednesday and will probably find some technicality again so they can throw it out. They are quite simply afraid to do their job and defend the first amendment. If they decide the monuments stay, then the positive side is that perhaps the evangelicals will actually read them for once and know what they are defending. Check out this survey to see what percentage of them can actually recite them now.