The line between moral values and religious teachings is a thin and blurry one. This is not a bad thing, considering how much we all actually agree on. Endorsement may not be establishment, public schools may not be congress, but our protection from the tyranny of the majority relies on sticking to basics. This country could be majority anything, and a strict reading of the establishment clause keeps us all safe in case of a Muslim majority, or Mormon or atheist. After school programs are fine, but any moral instruction during class time must be kept free of any religious trappings or bent. That is what makes this country strong, and will keep this country strong regardless of what happens in the future. We know that we have the freedom to teach our children what we think is best, and in order to preserve that freedom we must allow those who don’t agree with us the same.
Would America be a nicer place to live if everyone happened to follow Christ? Probably, but it’s not worth giving up the right to free thought and belief in order to make that so.
Tyranny of the minority — particularly the oversensitive minority — is no better than tyranny of the majority. Manger scenes, Christmas plays and mentions of faith in schools do not affect the freedom of thought, or of teaching your children what is best.
Through the banishment of any mention of the majority faith in schools, the current liberal ‘reading of the establishment clause’ has created a country that has handed control of public space to an atheist minority ... rather than keeping us safe from a potential atheist majority, as you say it would.
SnakeDoc