INDY500
Rock n' Roll Doggie Band-aid
A_Wanderer said:
That defines a secular government with free speefch, not only does it disallow a state church it also prevents the state from promoting or persecuting religious views and practices (provided that they arent violating the secular law of the land); and this extends to promoting biblical law over secular law.
It extends over other issues when property rights and individual rights are crushed over religious sensibilites (blue laws, sodomy laws and gay marriage for instance). The status quo that you are justifying is being erased by the courts as unconstitutional; and that extends to the pledge of alligence explicitely referencing one nation under God.
The framers never intended, as you suggest, that all -- including even the most benign -- references to God be removed from all official government business or political discourse. It certainly isn't the way they wrote, talked or carried on with the running of the Federal government.
And why, using your logic, if on day 1 of a HRC administration the Federal government passed a law making same-sex marriage legal, wouldn't that new law be "promoting the religious views and practices" of the million member United Church of Christ (which supports same-sex marriage) over those of the Southern Baptist, Mormon and Roman Catholic Church which do not? And thus unconstitutional.