Amazing. This post on China has immediately provoked a bitter sectarian assault on religious liberty in the USA.
It is simply not true that the USA bans religious items, thoughts and symbols from the public square. Look at a dollar bill. No US government has ever tried to prevent religious thought, and as for banning prayer in public schools, it has never been suggested, let alone attempted. Claims to the contrary are either ignorant or deceitful. That public schools may not hold religious services, ceremonies, classes and activities in no way prevents any and all students from praying while in school. Pray away, Kids, but don’t expect the school to participate in your personal religious practices.
Private religious belief and practice are distinct from the establishment of a state religion. Bibles (and all religious books) are allowed everywhere; there is no anti-religion Thought Police in the USA. The nation divorces religious activities from its official acts, thus treating all religions and sects equally. That is not oppressive.
True, hair-splitting atheist activists and zealous religious types do occasionally fuss over trivia, insisting that the government’s ovwerwhelmingly neutral attitude is less than perfect. Piffle! Both sides are silly.
There are a great many fundamentally important legal terms that are not found in the consitution: procedural and substantive due process, judicial review and self-defense are just three. “Separation of church and state” is a sloppy, popular description of the idea that governments (federal down to local) must not establish a state religion. It has no legal standing.
Under the US system, no one’s spiritual life is hindered. Religion is not under governmental attack or restriction. Church properties are tax-exempt, there are chaplains in the armed services, and no level of government is concerned about what anyone believes.
