With the SCOTUS ruling that it is not unconstitutional to offer sectarian prayers to begin public governmental meetings, many have their boxers in a twist shouting that the Court has broken down the wall of separation between church and state. Well, it has, but the complaints are misapplied. The Court has smashed the wall by being an arm of the government that has declared as the law of the land that such public religious activities are mere cultural artifacts without other meaning. In other words, SCOTUS has ruled with its 5-4 majority that religion is silly at best and harmless at worst.
I happen halfway to agree with the Court on this one, ie, public religious rites are silly at best but they are not harmless. It is silly to talk out loud to a non-existent Being, somewhat like talking to a telephone pole and expecting a response. Such public religious rites give the impression that what the 'prayers' are doing has effect. That such superstition should be given government support is a very dangerous thing. One has only to look to Rwanda with its making homosexuality a crime to see what happens when you think that religion is not dangerous. It is religion's influence in Rwanda that is the foundation of such irrational laws.
It is time for those of us who are secularists to say so out loud.
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