The situation in Egypt shows us how dire a threat to democracy a theocratic government can be. Religious zealots used the democratic process to gain power in Egypt, then, predictably, imposed a form of religious totalitarianism on its people.
Fundamentalists of all religions believe the tenets of their faith are immutable truths and that theirs is the only truth. They are blind to the fact that no religious belief system is more valid than any other. Laws and rules based on religious faith are all too often at odds with an enlightened, educated and free society.
In America, it is primarily right-wing Christians who wish to impose their values and rules on everyone else. In this, they are no different from and no less dangerous than Islamic extremists.
We are fortunate to have the freedom to practice our own religious faiths, but let us confine it to our houses of worship, our homes and to our personal moral decisions. There is no place for religion in a democratic government.
Contrary to what many of us may think, it is not such a long stretch to a scene right here just like what we are seeing in Egypt, as well-meaning and basically decent Christians are increasingly insinuating themselves into power with the intention of imposing their belief system upon the nation.
Norman Dovberg
Albany