How secualr is the USA when it comes to elect a president.

[far_born]

Originally posted by El_Kabong
The OP apparently wants to beleive that there is some sort of fundamentalist Christian cabal currently at the seat of power in the US

As a resident of the US, I would say that's only a mild exaggeration. Sure, Bush, may really just be a cold-hearted liar when he talks about religion, but the fact that he depends upon a rather large segment of the population that is affecting his policy decisions and whose beliefs are being exploited to support other policies is notable to me.

As far as militancy goes, you can't get more militant than the Bush administration. While they've hardly been "holy wars" they've certainly had their sickening appeals to God and country. Our chief warmonger, Bush, making frequent references to God and his characterization of "crusade" has hardly helped matters in the realm of world opinion.

I mean, really, that's the evidence is not a secular society?

hmm I thought we were discussing the degree of secularity regarding presidential elections not trying to prove that the US is not a secular society.

Bottom line is, there is no specific, legal requirement that I know of to be a member of any specific Christian church in order to run as a candidate for political office in the US,

Is this a legal debate? I don't think anyone made an allegation that the law requires a christian president.

That's not the bottom line to me.

To go back to some of the other issues you brought up such as race. In the old south, it wasn't a legal requirement that black men accused of raping white women in the south to get lynched, but it was still a problem worthy of discussion.

The culture inevitably affects the government no matter how the laws are written.

IMO, the election of the president of the US has very important religious overtones. Is gay marriage, for example, really a secular issue? People's rights and recognition are at stake, the bill of rights only goes so far against the tyranny of the majority.

Some may dismiss the "under god" reference as meangingless, but I didn't fail to notice that house of representatives voted 401-5 in favor and the senate voted 99-0 in favor of reaffirming its presence. Something with that much overwhelming support can hardly be seen as meaningless. I think in many districts, it could definitely affect electability.

While currently I would say that secular attitudes are becoming more prevalent, that doesn't mean the struggle is over by any means. Prayer in schools, creation science, censorship, are examples to me of the religious right's very current, persistent and noticeable influence in our society.

The issue has obvious significance in the US and it seems to me people are trying to downplay the issue, either out of wishful thinking or because they have problems with Aldeberan's purported motivations.