Yet there is a principle of separation of Church and State that is violated all the time.
Have you been to the captial? I was shocked by the amount of religious presense and influence in our government. Thomas Jefferson's Bible was on display when i visited. There has NEVER been a true separation of church and state. Before removing the nativity scenes and getting upset at the Christians for displaying them, maybe first change the flag salute and its reference to God. Change the money and it's reference to God. You'll need to go back into the constitution and remove the whole part of men being CREATED equal while you're at it.
No, religion has been a part of American politics since its inception. What separation of church and state REALLY means and SHOULD mean is that policy should not reflect a particular religious belief. I support this separation of church and state. I don't wish to enforce people to believe the way that I do. But the majority of people ARE Christians in the United States. If the majority were Muslims, I would expect and support some form of religious items in public places including government buildings.
I am not offended by cuss words, however if I saw a pre-school teacher using them when addressing the children, I would take issue. Would that make me intolerant? I don't think so.
The problem with this argument is that this is a violation of a social norm. Expressing your beliefs or non beliefs does not violate our culture. It's an expression of what our culture (the majority of it) is.
BTW, I am not upset at atheists wanting to remove nativity scenes, ten commandments, etc from government property. I understand your POV, because it doesn't represent everyone. But there is very little that will always represent everyone.
