To philosophical materialists God is no more than an idea in the human mind, and not a very important idea.

The restriction of religion to private life therefore does not necessarily threaten the vital interests of the majority religion, if there is one, and it protects minority religions from tyranny of the majority.

A constitutional democracy is in serious trouble if its citizenry does not have a certain degree of education and civic virtue.

As a theist I believe that God exists and that God creates.

Most importantly, I agree that the truth of these matters should be determined by interpretation of scientific evidence - experiments, fossil studies and the like.

In short, the proposition that God was in any way involved in our creation is effectively outlawed, and implicitly negated.

Materialism sets us free from sin-by proving that there is no such thing as sin. There's just antisocial behavior, which we can control with measures like laws and educational programs.