Yeah, I could get behind that.
Actually, I talked with my friend yesterday who said he led a prayer this weekend at a school sponsored banquet. I told him that’s unconstitutional. He said he didn’t care. When it comes to most things, he’s a great guy. He’s just so damn stubborn over this religious nonsense.
Well, if you’re going to go after the people who want (I’m not using the term “demand”) ceremonial deism, then you’re looking at waaaaay more than 1/3 of Americans. It’s probably more like 90%. A battle that is lost in the starting blocks.
I have to wonder how many think that an official state religion is about the same as deciding on an official state bird or official state rock. Not that we should do that version either, but it’s somewhat less awful if it’s purely ceremonial.
It wouldn’t be purely ceremonial, or the idea wouldn’t be getting proposed at all. The real motives are pretty clear, as is their origin in evangelism.
I polled myself on these points and the results are in: your concerns are 100% pedantic.
Yes, the phrase “separation of church and state” does not appear in the U.S. Constitution. It’s merely a convenient shorthand that concisely and in a much more user-friendly way sums up the exact sentiment of the Establishment Clause.
If you say “Establishment Clause” to the average American, you’ll get a blank stare. So, we all agree to rephrase it as “separation of church and state” and everyone is happy.
Except for pendants. But they’re never happy anyway, eh? 
And yet the Establishment Clause has never been interpreted as creating an actual separation of Church and State. “Ceremonial Deism” is a judicial fig leaf created to cover up that fact. There’s nothing “ceremonial” about Congress having official chaplains and opening every session with a prayer.
So, yeah, we have “separation of Church and State”. Except where we don’t.
Could we make Jesus the State Bird?
He can fly, right?
You’re just pissed 'cos when they say “Christian” you know they don’t mean “Mormon.” 
Which has been called a very accommodating church, in that it interferes neither with a man’s politics nor with his religion.
People in America want freedom from oppression. They want the freedom to oppress others.
Quoted for more truth than we are really comfortable with:
Once I saw this guy on a bridge about to jump. I said, “Don’t do it!”
He said, "Nobody loves me."
I said, "God loves you. Do you believe in God?"
He said, "Yes."
I said, "Are you a Christian or a Jew?"
He said, "A Christian."
I said, "Me, too! Protestant or Catholic?"
He said, "Protestant."
I said, "Me, too! What franchise?"
He said, "Baptist."
I said, "Me, too! Northern Baptist or Southern Baptist?"
He said, "Northern Baptist."
I said, "Me, too! Northern Conservative Baptist or Northern Liberal Baptist?"
He said, "Northern Conservative Baptist."
I said, "Me, too! Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region, or Northern Conservative Baptist Eastern Region?" He said, "Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region."
I said, "Me, too! Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1879, or Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1912?"
He said, "Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1912."
I said, "Die, heretic!" And I pushed him over.I fear, sir, that you are correct in your estimation. Sad, damned sad, isn’t it?
[Looks around surreptitiously]Shhhhhh! Don’t let that secret get out![/las]
I thought of you and your book last week.
One of my coworkers came back from Easter vacation looking like he had the worse case of juvenile acne ever, despite being in his late 30s. Turns out that he didn’t get the chickenpox vaccine when he was little, he hadn’t had chickenpox, and his son had brought it home from kindergarten. Someone asked him “haven’t you vaccinated him?” “
it’s hard enough to get them the compulsory vaccinations my wife is one of those…” “ouch! :(”
The only one who didn’t get chickenpox was the (vaccinated) wife. Father, 4yo son and 2mo daughter did.
If you are making the point that we have lax enforcement, then I agree with you.
If you are making another point, then I’m not seeing it.
From the West Wing
There should be no intelligence test for voting. But there *should *be an intelligence test for polling.
Yeah, but of that group:
[ul]
[li]80% have no idea wtf ceremonial deism means[/li][li]5% are doing it just to piss you off[/li][li]40% honestly can’t understand why it would bother Muslims, Jews, etc.[/li][li]50% would do exactly nothing to preserve it[/li][li]16% have genital herpes[/li][/ul]
Hmmm, maybe that shouldn’t make you feel better.
I was just reading a Council on Foreign Relations report on international polling results on human rights. I found this tidbit particularly interesting:
Yay, America, I guess.
That always makes me so mad. A friend of mine was babysitting. The kid’s mother did not tell her the kids had chicken pox! She was an immigrant from Colombia so she had not gotten the shot. She wound up with a nasty case of it including scars and two weeks away from work.
Chicken pox can be a mild disease granted. But I had mine when I was seven when there was no vaccine. Over a week of itching and scratching and feeling utterly miserable. A shot would have been so much easier.
I suspect a portion might also believe he’s the Antichrist and voting for him anyway simply because fuck this gay Earth, regardless of any specific belief regarding the post-fucking environment.
I totally would. It’s not often curiosity can kill all the cats.