"What's the alternative, Bill? If we don't, then there is no freedom or dignity. "

Yes...but then perhaps freedom & dignity are just artificial constructs also. It's a fine point, but what is ultimately the basis of experience 'could' be just complex causality. We just can't act that way.

"There was a faith-healer of Deal,
Who said, "Although pain isn't real,
When I sit on a pin.
And it punctures my skin,
I dislike what I fancy I feel."
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But to also comment on the 'point of Law'..
...It is not necessary to assign ratings to religious beliefs in order to argue that they should not have independent standing in law. Because they are subjective and variable, they are subject to many interpretations and formats, and a single set of laws needs to be applicable to everyone. The law should take account of a person's motivations, but not be bound by them....else the oft-heard "God told me to do it" would become VERY popular.