Yes a prominent and powerful religious organization handed us our hats on this one, and yes they did so with allies of the same ilk and a lot of deceit. To condemn all religions for the acts of some would make us into the same kind of hypocrites we accuse that few of being.

It’s unlikely that we will achieve our goals by trying to unseat deeply held beliefs. Instead we should find just as deeply held beliefs that remind the faithful that they have an obligation to love their fellow man, irrespective of everything else.

We’re going to need to capitalize on those supporters we can find in faith communities, not alienate them.

It’s time to take a deep breath and think, not just react out of anger.

It appears that your point is that all organized religion is bad. If that is your argument, I reject it.

It’s interesting that you jump from organized to religion to “the free market” as though no other possibilities exist.

So the absense of religion…is capitalism?

We may be fortunate. We may have to look forward to something comparable to

- Dedication to the preservation of literature and history and even the craft of reading and writing during Dark Ages

- Commitment to feeding, clothing, housing and medical care for the less fortunate

- A place of solice and comfort for those who are in distress

- A voice against slavery and oppression (though they have not been given enough credit, in some counties in CA the campaign against Prop 8 was almost entirely the product of churches committed to equality and social justice)

- Patronage of arts providing great beauty

Yes, religion has its evil history. But without religion, the world would be a much much darker place. As much as I believe in the free market, there are some cultural benefits that are not driven by profit and quite often those exist out of the efforts of organized religion.