Stilly - Great point! Yes, they CAN disagree with each other and still all be right!...meaning...they are right from their own point of view, given the conditions and situation within which they are working.

There is no one way that people have to live or be in order to be "right". There are many ways. It is up to each person to find the way of living that is best for him or her, but that will not be the way that is best for everybody...nor SHOULD it be.

Mick - You are absolutely right. This thread was launched on a stupid, valueless premise, indicative of gross prejudice and almost no real thought or analysis.

And folks, it is the "civil" religions that really worry me. Those are the ones that end up controlling the lives of millions and sending armies overseas to smash up other countries. Compared to those civil religions, the influence of church-sponsored religions on most people is small potatoes. Most so-called atheists are firmly in the grip of one or another of these civil religions...as are most churchgoers. You do not need to believe in God to be religious. Not in the least. You just have to believe in a concept that is larger than yourself and quite possibly mythological in nature, and then devote yourself to that concept and serve it. Like...the idea that your country stands for "liberty and freedom", for instance, when what it really stands for is military and financial supremacy and exploitation on a worldwide scale. Now THAT's a religion that has teeth, and it kills people all over the World in its righteous, crusading zeal.

The Germans under Hitler practiced a messianic civil religion of extraordinary vigor and potency. It was called "Naziism". The Russians under Stalin practiced a different civil religion, equally messianic. It was called "Communism" (or Stalinism). Chairman Mao launched a civil-religious revival called "The Great Cultural Revolution". Pol Pot did something similar and even worse in Cambodia. The USA is presently engaged in a civil-religious crusade called "The War on Terrorism".

Of those above 5 examples, 2 of them claimed to represent God in some way (the Nazis and the USA), while 3 of them didn't profess ANY belief in God (Stalin, Mao, and Pol Pot). I repeat, you do NOT need to believe in God in order to be religious. You just have to believe in something that is intangible and much larger than yourself. An idea, in other words. A big idea. Dangerous ideas can persuade people to oppress and kill other people.