do Christians want their values enforced on everyone by law?

the unfortunate thing about democracy is that if the majority of the people want a theocracy, we have one.

i believe my original statement answered that question: when there is a majority of people who want that.

---

that statement does not parse. i think your chronology is mixed up. there had been separation of church and state for a long time before there were public schools. the first real public schools popped up around 1840, and there wasn't even federal regulation until 1980.further, your point is still incredibly wrong. as just about anyone who has been to high school will tell you, there is indeed christian literature on the reading list. just like there is hindu, babylonian, native american, and a myriad other cultures represented. many students read dante's inferno, milton's paradise lost, and even genesis. really. we might even be able to count the the canterbury tales in there, too.the difference is that it's not taught as fact, it's taught as literature. students are left free to believe whatever they wish, and there is certainly no prohibition on christianity. ask any high school prayer group. that you wish to force others to comply with your religious beliefs does. just as if muslims wished force your wives you wear veils, it would pose a threat to your beliefs.imposing neutrality is not a threat. imposing bias is. neutrality is not bias. by definition. i really wish the fundamentalist types would just get this simple point through their heads. we shall see tuesday.Edited by arachnophilia, : typo

---

how many times must this be brought up here?jefferson went to church a few times, yeah. but he was a deist, not a christian. if you were to actually look for quotes from him, you'd find that he actually had quite a strong distaste for christianity.to try to make any point otherwise is taking something out of context; quote-mining in extreme.Edited by arachnophilia, : typo

---

buzsaw is forbidden the privelege of enforcing his religion.

clearly, since you aren't addressing this point to a real argument, those must not be strawmen. my point, which you ignored, is that christian literature is indeed taught in schools, and prayer groups are in fact allowed. since this is simply a point of fact, clearly what you are being forbidden is more than simply allowing christians to function as any other group within the public school system. if this is all you are clamoring for, then you are simply under a false impression, and in the process giving everyone else here a false impression of what you're asking for. i agree, our lawmakers are not good examples of christians. however, they do claim to be christians (all of them, btw, or pretty close to all of them), and the current party in power in all three branches of government strongly plays to (and manipulates) white, christian america. these are christians making laws for christian voters. "secularists" is not an organized group. neither is "gays." and secularism does not impose itself on religion; it is saying that the government should not be a religious organization. this allows every religion to operate as it so wishes. neutrality is the opposite of bias, buz. it's not just another bias. having a secular government is not the same as having a government that outlaws religions. but legislating any one religion is like confining all the others by law.and what you are essentially arguing for here, by bringing up "secularists," is that religion should be in government. that is the natural implication of your sentiment. by saying that you are not a member of the group defined by the belief in separation of church and state, you are saying that you do not believe church and state should be separated.

---

public schools (which are governmental buildings) are regularly used by church groups to this very day. that's the nature of a building for the people. it can be used for anything the people wish to use it for. it does not mean the government is associated with every practice committed within the walls of said building.and when i vote on tuesday, i'm doing so at a church. chances are there are many other people here doing the same.

---

no, secularism allows for christianity. and every other religion. that's the idea of separation of church and state, to protect the church. not the state. your language implies two mutually exclusive groups working towards opposite ends. as a christian, i want to keep religion out of government. is that so hard to understand? the fact that my faith is my decision is something i hold very dear for both religious reasons AND political ones.

---

congress is no longer an open and public building, that serves that function. and i would be honestly surprised if military bands didn't play christmas carols. it's called "tax exemption."

---