Something that's been rattling around my mind for a while now, while the separation between church and state is a reasonable goal, just how different are religion and politics?
Now, I was born right around when the time the 'Silent majority' lost it's god damn mind and decided it should be running America, while neither being silent, or a majority. At least as far as I've ever been able to tell. So that may well be coloring my view of things. But I do have an interest in history, and from my digging most major political movements here in the US can be traced back to a religious group, affiliation, or even lack there of. While it flags off a bit in the last few decades, and actually ramped up a bit in the US after a major reformation of US churches(ironically largely promoted by women, who weren't supposed to speak up during it) well after the revolution. But, even when a religious affiliation isn't involved, don't any such beliefs largely shape your view of the world as well as your expectations of your government?
Similarly, through out history major political moves have fractured congregations and formed entire new religious movements based as much around a political ideal as much as their own holy scriptures(see the prosperity gospel). From the early protestant church down to our own beloved evangelicals, most of these transformations were based more on political differences than doctrinal. So I'm getting lost on just how we could manage a separation of Church and State.
Though right now watching the republican primary I'm wondering if religion is just politics with a promised afterlife. Makes me shudder to think of something like this happening for eternity.
Even with those of us who are atheist, one of our larger political concerns is not being bound by someone else's religion due to legal process. The only way I can really think of doing that is pointing out just how little of the world works the way religions generally say they do, and the creationist movement can show you just how well that generally ends.
But, really, what are the big differences between religion and politics, what have been the differences in the past? It seems like both are massive clumps of self interest that no single person can manage to make a dent in without forming their own massive clump of self interest.