Religious Organizations have a similar place in politics as Organized Labour ... They both represent large groups of people with similar values that will face similar problems based on decisions that are made in politics.

You should of went to another school.

America also has many schools run by private institutions. These private schools can be run how they like so long as they also meet the nation curriculiam. (Same in the UK i believe. Though for some reason I believe you also help fund them.)

Most people put up with the "forced" religion classes because private schools are often more efficent and better at teaching other subjects as well.

Saying a religion can't have a school would be putting religion in goverment.

Yes... and no.

Religion effects people views, which effects what is a reasonable law for them.

If the law is fair to all, and there is nothing unusual about it... why not? Just because it falls in line with a religion who cares? You can't have a law passed because it's the same law that's in a religion?

To pass a law just because it's of a single religion though is strange, then again we already have a lot of strange laws.

There are also some laws that are silly that are passed seemingly only to hurt religions. For example some places have laws that make it illegal to wear hats in public buildings. Or laws that actually prevent people from praying.

There should definitly be some religious sensitivity in government.

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Dude everything you point out is the usual - 'not everyone in the religion is like that' etc.

The simple fact is that the Church and religions do go together. The major religions all have places of faith, rituals and all are based on views developed when when as a race we didn't even know why we could sit in a chair instead of falling right through it (clue, it's not becuase it's solid).

I don't want to attack your faith, but don't come back to me with nonsense responses and call me uninformed when you are clearly unable to see past the limits of your own faith.

The negative impact of religion when it influences running of a country or state (which was the original post) far outweighs any benefits. This is not opinion but simply based on historical facts. There's a reason the Christian faith had a reformation, there's a reason why in most Western countries church and politics have been seperated.

All laws are based on opinions. Democracy is just a nice method of avoiding having everyone meet in a field and fight. Mostly the larger force wins, so why not just vote instead and let the majority win... get it?

What I'm saying is all religions are products of our imagintion. We developed them just as we develop civil laws. I'm saying I prefer civial laws as they tend, when well developed, to be superior and to avoid the negative elements of religion that come with the good 'it's moral stance'.

Actually while Civil Laws avoid a lot of religious run flaws in governments, they also have their own issues.

Democracies unbound by things like religion tend to start voting for things they want, instead of things they need... reason beign democracies arn't stable enough, and politicians start toadying to what people want to hear, instead of what needs to be done.

Theocracy's are actually about as stable a government as you can get. As a bonus, unlike dictators they tend to have a doctrine they follow that somewhat ensures the good of the people.

The only problem with Theocracys is that they are too stable and people in charge end up getting corrupt with their own power and stop ruling with the good of the nation in mind and even stop following the original teaching put down and alter things for their own good.

Like the Catholic Church during the crusades. They wern't exactly a theocracy but other countries did what it followed... and eventually they built in a number of laws to curve other peoples power and named it religious doctrine. Things like preventing priests for marrying and having sex to make sure that the catholic churches power stays centralized. They also tend to surpress other relgions, once again to keep said power.

Then things like that stick and it becomes religious law and we end up with cluttered religious laws. Jewish people can only eat kosher food for example, could that only be Jewish law becauase people found that people got sick eating these other animals if they weren't prepaired right?

Those laws that seem anti-gay and that god wants you have kids in christanity (and judiasm), could that be because child birth was very important to the strength of a group of people?

The real problem about religious rule isn't religion. It's people. Which is the same problem with EVERY form of government.

An ideal system would be one kind of like current democracies, yet not as unstable. One where the rulers feel insecure enough to screw over the people, but not so insecure that they are afraid to make laws that are for the good of the people, but also are not what the people want.

The best government would be a dictatorhip by some actual inccoruptable figure who can see things from two sides, and then a line of people like that.  Which has been tried both in dictatorships and theocracys, but fails as there are very very few people like that, and those people arn't the kind of people that are waving their hands to be surpreme ruler over everyone. 

Ironically to have a perfect government, it would pretty much have to be ruled by God.   Or some sort of perfect comuter of logic, but even then said computer would just be influenced by those who created him.

Heh maybe a computer made by god. 

A man is free to argue for a law that fits his faith, but he has to justify the reasons for having it in a secular government. So "no abortions 'cuz the Bible says ___" is not acceptable.

No. Religion should absolutely stay out of politics, because having one religion influence politics is putting it above all other religions practiced in that country. I'm okay with parties following a certain religion however, although I would never vote for them.

never, religion should only have allowed in your own head

^yes agree
if u let ur religon enter in politics, u will make urself biased against the other religons

Hell no.