How does forcing non-Christians to obey Christian law fit into that philosophy?
I guess you're missing the point I'm trying to make. The founding fathers had to create law based on their experiences, and that was overwhelmingly Christian. Does that reflect the prevailing thinking of this day? Maybe so, maybe not. I guess that gets left up to voters.
I agree that Christians have a right to voice opinions and influence governance, but the government has a duty to its citizens not to adopt exclusive Christian policy. I refer again to discrimination against gays who want to marry.
I'd say that now more than ever with as diverse as our country is, there is no danger of Christians taking exclusive hold of policies, heh. They are voicing opinions like every other group does. :dunno: However, our nation
is identified as Christian, since 75-80% of our population identifies itself as such.
I occasionally hear a prominent Christian, such as Rev. Billy Graham, talk about how Christianity is under attack in this country. I honestly don't know what he means.
When Christians are not allowed to practice their faith openly, which has been a trend in public schools (having a Bible confiscated, or individuals not being allowed to pray, or share their faith, at appropriate times of course.)
Atheists know that "thou shalt not kill" is a good idea.
Do they? Why? What belief system would they base this on? Maybe it depends on the mood they're in on a particular day.
If the law of the land becomes the same as the law of the church, where is my freedom of religion?
You can't separate morality from law. Law is defined by some belief system(s). The $64 question is which ones do we base it on? Also, law should NOT be changed to accomodate a sub 1% minority who happens to maintain a strong lobby in Washington. That would then be unfair and unrepresentative to the other 99% of the population.