An Optimistic Thought. Mostly.

Maybe America is not destined to become a fundamentalist Christian theocracy after all:

The US is increasingly portrayed as a hotbed of religious fervour. Yet in the homeland of ostentatiously religious politicians such as Michele Bachmann and Rick Perry, agnostics and atheists are actually part of one of the fastest-growing demographics in the US: the godless. Far from being in thrall to its religious leaders, the US is in fact becoming a more secular country, some experts say."It has never been better to be a free-thinker or an agnostic in America," says Annie Laurie Gaylor, co-president of the Freedom From Religion Foundation.

The good news comes with a warning, though:

Yet there is little doubt that religious groups still wield enormous influence in US politics and public life, especially through the rightwing of the Republican party. Groups such as Focus on the Family are well-funded and skilful lobbyists.

And a few of them kill doctors.

Okay, that's not a particularly optimistic thought but it's reality. The good usually comes with some strings attached or other complication. Still, I like the trend toward less religious control of public life.

Hallelujah!