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Just one thing to point out before we ban religion all together.

For the first 15-20 years, the civil rights movement was almost entirely based on religious principles and led by religious leader.

Religious principles also were big motivators for abolitionists, social reformers in the 1880-90's and some New Deal Cabinate members.

But, we should certainly move to ban Fundamentalist religion and remind more than a few religious folks of their own history and traditions.

I'll work on that.

But I rather imagine it was an excuse for high school kids to cut class. Like they need much encouragement.

Matthew, all of your examples are at least 30 years old. It's hard to argue that religion is a net gain at all for the USA at this point. I don't see religious groups organizing in any significant way for progressive causes any more. I've seen very few religious groups (other than Episcopalians) represented at any anti-war event I've attended.

They're more likely to spend their time fighting sex education, gay rights, and abortion. I never even hear anything about opposition to the death penalty anymore.

I think you are all wrong. I attend Boyd County High school and I am 100% against this club. They can do their thing out of school. All this has caused is negative publicity for our school. On one side we all look gay and on the otherside we all look like Eastern Ky rednecks (I'd rather be the otherside.) They met last year at a church outside the school and no one said anything about it. Why couldn't they just keep doing that. They only thing you are accomplishing is separting a group of people who complain about being separted in the first place.

Hi there H.,

If you and your classmates and your town's ministers would simply accept the existence of the GSA rather than kicking and screaming over a club that these students have a constitutional right to form at the school, then you wouldn't have that problem at all. Ther are GSAs in thousands of schools all over the U.S. and the only reason the school is getting negative publicity is because of the folks on your side of the argument.

Try a little tolerance. It won't kill you.

to H.G. Your comnments remind me of the classic response to homophobic arrogance: "I don't care if people choose to be heterosexual, as long as they don't flaunt it in my face" (As in "try to exist in the face of bigotry and hatred" - no wait, that's what gay people have to do on a daily basis...)

That student that was worried about looking like "rednecks" should wake up. That's exactly what intolerance and homophobic bigotry makes you look like!! Up here in the big city of Chicago (where we have tall buildings and indoor plumbing), everyone - straight, gay and otherwise seem to get along just fine. Why can't you???

I was a student at Boyd County High, and graduated in 1999. For all of the years I went to school there, there was never any problems with gays or race or anything, until the ACLU got a local branch. They first started problems with race. Then that calmed down around the time I graduated. Then Kaye King became a teacher there and she reignited the race wars and desided to throw in the gay wars. She is the actual problem with the entire school. What she has done will cause some people alot of pain. I feel bad for the first BCHS student that is going to be "GAY" to the wrong person. I know the school, and I know the community, I lived there for 20 years.. If Mrs. King would stop pressuring kids to be something that they are not, then the problem would go away. She make these kids think they are gay so she can have something to fight for, so that she feels like she has accomplished something. Sadly she won't take the blame when her students blood has been spilled for sometime she started. God Bless the USA and help us all.

Ah yes, Nick R. I grew up in a small town in Arkansas. I am very aware of the attitude of "everything was all right with the blacks and the homos until people started stirring things up." I suspect the blacks and homos didn't feel that everything was just fine. The same goes for "uppity women".

Regarding Matt's comment. I suppose as someone who believes strongly in the First Amendment, "banning religion" is a bit strong for my true attitude, but it's a blog and people like spicy headlines.

My true feelings are that I look forward to a world where having someone say he believes in God and lives his life according to the Bible (or the Koran or the Torah) will be looked upon as the equivalent of insisting that the earth is flat.