All laws in the U.S. based solely upon religion should be overturned

Actually, I agree with chrisbrocker505's assertion in contention #1 that "it is essential for public schools to remain religiously neutral." I disagree, however, with the argument in contention #2 that "having religious laws helps keep the balance..." and "for example if we where [sic] to overturn these laws and would make all the ground gay people have made disappear." Chrisbrocker505 further asserts that "if we are a really a free country we would believe what our pledge says "with liberty and justice for all" and that includes gays or any other minority." In my opinion, keeping religious-based laws constitutional in the United States has exactly the opposite affect of what chrisbrocker505 contends. By allowing a government official such as this Clerk of the Courts from Kentucky, who is currently making news about her refusal to grant a marriage license to same-sex couples within her jurisdiction, to inject her religious beliefs into a governmental process has the serious affect of eroding the secular nature of our constitutional state and federal laws. There is a distinct reason for the requirements of a separation of church and state in U.S. laws, as expressed in the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. Through our Constitution, we respect everyone's right to exercise their own personal religious beliefs, so long as those beliefs do not interfere with the free expression of other citizens. So why then would we want our government to take sides in a religious matter such as marriage? We need to take religion out of our government institutions and our laws. Yes, we need to respect each other's religious beliefs, but we don't need to have our government officials acting as advocates of one religious belief over another. We do not need to devolve our society into that of a totalitarian religious state like Saudi Arabia or Iran. That is not in keeping with our values, and is not what so many of our men and women have fought and died for. Religion needs to end at the steps of the courthouse, the legislative assembly, public school, and government office. We can learn the diversity of different religions and cultures, in order to respect each other, but we don't need to have advocates in the classroom, courtroom, or legislature trying to persuade us to adapt to their opinions and religious convictions. The fault cannot be laid at the feet of this wayward public official in Kentucky. The fault goes higher than that. The reality is that, despite the Establishment Clause in the First Amendment to the Constitution, we have had a long history of lawmakers injecting religion into our laws, one line at a time. The government never should have gotten involved in the marriage business in the first place from a religious standpoint. Understanding history, you can see how it was hard to resist the temptation to keep religion in our laws 100 or 200 years ago. But that time has changed. I respect anyone's right to have a marriage ceremony conducted within their own religious institution based on the principles and beliefs of that religion. I also respect a person's right to refuse to violate their own religious convictions, within reason. A government official has to follow the government's rules and laws, period. But a private citizen or business shouldn't be held to that high of a standard. For example, I don't think that a declared Christian business, such as a bakery, should be forced to bake a wedding cake for a same-sex couple. Or forced to pay for health insurance that includes payments for abortion. If you don't like their beliefs, go buy from or work for someone else.