Brendan, I absolutely support your idea of Separation of Church and State. One's personal conviction should have no role in deciding public policy.

If you are irritating, however, then the point of discussion is lost.

A belief system can't be rational because it contains no proof empirically.

I don't despise you for having a belief system. I had one once myself. I was not traumatized by it in any way. In my own case, I outgrew it.

There is no militant atheism any more than there is militant Catholicism, Christianity, Judaism, etc. (of which many will argue that these militant views exist).

Atheists today are no different from what they've always been, non-believers. They have been suppressed by religious people and are now speaking out. The dialogue will continue as more people leave their respective "faiths".

I'm not in favor of attacking anyone's religious beliefs unless they prove to be a menace to society imposing their will through violence and intimidation.

I think these threads are useful in that they explore alternative ideas to the prevailing
"monolithic" views of the majority of the public.