Re: theocracy

That's a valid point for current secular societies. Less valid historically - say, most of Scandinavia 20 years ago.

But I believe the real problem is not whether a society is ruled by secular assholes or religious assholes, but whether the people are free.

Every society has fallen short of the ideal, but some have been better than others. Some religious rulers have been very tolerant, but most have been intolerant to different degrees - and the same can be said for secular leaders.

For all its problems related to the War on Drugs, the War on Terror, and the War on Children, the contemporary secular society of the United States has done pretty well on other measures, but most of all has proven that religion can flourish in a secular culture. The fact that officially non-religious ideologies can take on the shape of dogma, and that dogma both secular and religious can be used to reduce the liberty of the people, says much about human nature but little about the difference between religious and secular rule.