"Seems there's just a big fear of religion these days. Considering our religious heritage, I find it strange."
Given the history of failure in gov't when religions gain political power, it's understandable why some fear what they perceive to be a growing movement towards theocracy. No religion has done a very admirable job long-term in running a country. Look at Islam today. 95% of the problems facing Muslim countries today can be traced to the fact that they're all Islamic theocracies.
What I find strange is the entire religious argument. I mean, on the one side you have the evangelical Christians claiming to be almost as persecuted as their ancient brethren in the Roman Colosseum and wish to blame the "secularists" for the downfall of society. On the other side are the secularists/non-religious people who are afraid of the evangelical movement becoming theocracy.
Then there's the 'middle' ground, where people wish to keep their faith to themselves and their children while also abhorring some of the more decadent aspects of American culture. But since the middle is relatively quiet (but the largest of the 3 groups), their concerns are ignored.
Oh, for a return to the days of Benjamin Franklin. One of the worlds greatest scientists of his day, but the same man that calmed the constitutional convention by pressing for daily prayers.
There was no fear of religion then, because by 1790 we had abandoned religious persecution. And no fear of science either, as it was looked on as an explanation of Gods creation, not a threat to it.
Perhaps it's been the pressure from outside of science to conform to a particular religious interpretation of life and the species that has created the mutual animosity? Nah.