Antidisestablishmentarianism or why it`s better to have them inside the tent.....

Much has been said on this site about the founding fathers and their secular principles in forming the US constitution. Very laudable ambitions indeed but they often seem to fail in practice. Every politician that runs for president has to have a whole bunch of god botherers on his side to stand a chance of getting elected. Right to lifers form up to stop abortion statutes (right to life ends at birth for so many of them). It seems from this side of the pond that hardley any political decisions are made without referance to the christian majority.

In contrast we in the UK do things a little differently. Firstly we do not have a written constitution. Even Magna Carta is adhered to more in the US than here. Secondly the church is embeded in our state. Henry viii made himself defender of the faith but even before him Thomas à Becket fell foul interfering too much in politics. So the church is subordinate to the crown. After a civil war and a deposing of a king (James ii) The crown is subordinate to parliament, which in turn is subordinate to the people. In practice this means that bishops have their place in the house of lords and cannot stray from there. ie no running for office or meddling in party politics Politicians dare not play the religion card as this is not their place. If fact many are rebuked if they seem overtly religious. The church of England itself is often seen as an inoculation against religion. Boring sermons and drafty churches deter all but the most pious. Added to this the UK is and becoming more and more multi-cultural. Contrary to Trumps tweets UK muslims live for the most part in harmony with English secularism, while we in turn try to respect their beliefs whilst still maintaining our values. We are also looking at the very real prospect of electing an atheist PM in the shape of Corbyn. I wonder just how possible that might be in the US?