There should be a separation between Church and State.
This is a fundamental tenet in American culture and in some others as well. It's a conclusion we reached through many hard years of fighting religious wars in the West. It's a lesson still not learned in most other cultures, who pay dearly for their foolishness.
The question of the day is this: if religion should be kept out of politics, ought atheism be kept out as well? I'm not entirely sure what that means, but it strikes me that instilling a policy of unbelief in religion at a political level is itself a kind of act of faith. Maybe what we atheists should do is to allow religious people to be in politics all they want, just so long as they don't set policy or pass legislation based on that religion. On the other side, atheists ought not be able to set policy or pass legislation based on their disbelief in or distaste for religion. I reckon that would extend to all religions.
It's rather a moot point since religion is so deeply embedded in our political dialog. I merely raise the point, to record it here.
