And what of the so-called Christians who say they worship God, yet their actions prove that they are instead worshipping these idols? My counter is that belief in God does not necessarily make one more ethical or moral. Muslims believe in God, yet most Americans are horrified at how that belief manifests in an Islamic theocracy. And yet what you’re calling for is a Christian theocracy with no safety net to prevent it from becoming a humanitarian nightmare.

People can do some truly awful things when they’re told it is God’s Will, regardless of whether it actually is God’s Will or is really just some persuasive megalomaniac’s attempt to control others to their own personal benefit.

I don’t want to deny anyone their faith or beliefs, be they theist, atheist, pagan or just plain old bat-shit crazy. But I will stand against any attempt by any party or group to try and institutionalize their beliefs into government policy (this goes for fundamentalist conservatives as well as technocratic liberals). Freedom comes with the price that we must allow others to be free to make horrible choices. If we try to stop those “bad choices” through state action, then we no longer live in a free state.