[AndrewC]

"The way it is" is not the same as "the way it must be".

True, but "the way it is" is "the way it is". There was a Soviet Union, and there is a Red China. They were/are not so tolerant of religion.

[general_re]

True, but "the way it is" is "the way it is".

How Randian of you ;)

There was a Soviet Union, and there is a Red China. They were/are not so tolerant of religion.

We chose differently. In any case, I don't think that the state's treatment of Kent Hovind makes a very good yardstick for measuring that tolerance, for a variety of reasons.