Anyone who wishes, with private money on private property, even in public view, to express religious belief is welcome to, both legally and personally.

The sole objection to religious displays is when public money and public property are used in them. When you hear about attempts to squelch expression of religion, consider the source of the report and do some research. Chances are it's being overinflated and used as a scare tactic, usually in an effort to get you to donate money. And the few actual cases that do turn up usually involve an overly nervous school official who acts on a hunch rather than on the law.

I know Mormon history somewhat, and I would think that Mormons especially would be leery of government religion, after all they've been through. So I can believe that you'd sympathize with that Oklahoma family.

I understand what you're saying, Jilsyt, I think--that you feel that religion is a force for good, why would anyone want to suppress it? It's a force for good except when it's not, is the problem, and getting the state involved in it is never good. The people of Missouri who slaughtered Mormons left and right felt God (and the law) was on their side, just as the people of this Oklahoma town thought that God was calling them to expel this atheist family--and that they had a right to use government bodies to force that family to leave.

I agree, the founders were religious men. But among them, they also disagreed as to what the nature of God was. Look at the Jefferson Bible. Really illuminating as to what he thought of the Gospels (answer: not much). Because they themselves could not agree on the nature of God nor the proper worship of God, the fathers agreed to keep the state out of religion and vice versa. It has allowed the growth (and founding, in Mormonism's case) of religion in this country rather than its codification.

What it comes down to is this: When we give official sanction to certain religious expressions, we draw a line that says, "Everyone within this circle is right, and protected; everyone outside this circle is wrong, and fair game." That's what happened to that atheist family in Oklahoma. It's what happened countless times to Mormon families from that religion's founding well into the 20th century outside of Utah. Who decides what is the proper way to believe? The individual, or the group? In the United States, it is the individual, though the group may yell and scream and jump up and down and call him an unbeliever.

The Constitution is clear; the supporting documents the founders left behind are also clear; and the country's motto is clear. "E Pluribus Unum." Out of many, one. The believers, the unbelievers, we're all Americans, and it doesn't matter whether the founders were religious or not, or what their religion(s) was (were).

Our government cannot choose for us in what is ultimately a matter of personal conscience, nor should we want it to, and government expression of religious doctrine does make that choice for everyone. It is between you and God.

Or not.