I've just read this article, written by Maryam Namazie, a rights activist and ex-Muslim. While her talk was primarily about Islam, it can be just as easily applied to any fundamentalist, dogmatic religion. It's well worth the read, believe me.

She equates modern Islam with the Catholic Inquisition of the Middle Ages. Among other things, she says that, "A ‘personal’ religion is impossible under an inquisition. You can’t pick and choose as you’d like.", and "One of the characteristics of an inquisition is a total ban on freethinking and policing of thought." According to Ms. Namazie, modern Islam is another Inquisition.

Of particular note is this: "The distinction between humans and their beliefs and regressive political movements is of crucial significance here.
It is the human being who is meant to be equal not his or her beliefs. It is the human being who is worthy of the highest respect and rights not his or her beliefs or those imputed on them.
It is the human being who is sacred not beliefs or religion.
The problem is that religion sees things the other way around.
And this is the main reason why religion must be relegated to being a private matter."

While her primary point involves stopping the current spread of Islamic fundamentalism in Britain, many of her points could just as easily apply to the current surge of fundamentalist Christianity occurring in the US. When we allow religions to force their laws into the laws of nations, we force all people, regardless of their beliefs, to submit to that one religion. Allowing the teaching of religious doctrine in science classes turns those classes into pulpits, spoon-feeding dogma to our children rather than teaching them to think.

Please, read Ms. Namazie's article, and think about what she is saying. She is far more eloquent than I am, and far more knowledgeable about the evils of dogmatic, fundamentalist religions. She is on the front lines of the battle to save humanity from it's gods.