Alarming.

I was so engrossed in reading this, among other articles when I stupidly downloaded a virus into my laptop. After reading a few articles I sat and stared into space for a full five minutes contemplating the gravity of this predicament and the possibilities it entails.

There is a college, the Patrick Henry College (PHC) set up 5 years ago in Virginia.

It's mission: to train young fundamentalist Christians to become the next generation of America's cultural and political leaders.

This is coming from a state where the separation of church and state is one of the keystones of American liberty. President Thomas Jefferson who wrote the Declaration of Independence, quoted the First Amendment and made clear his intention to maintain a strict separation between government and religion in federal affairs. In the Bill of Rights, the First Amendment "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..."

The college has connections to top politicians (Republican/conservative, of course) and friends-in-high-places in Washington where students would work as interns for upon graduation.

!!!

What is most scary is not just that this college does exist, (and for the past 5 years no less) but that the voters might just be stupid enough to vote for them. Look George Bush has indirectly built a wall between Christians and those of other religions and or those of none but still won the past two terms, voted into office by a country which supposedly values the separation between church and state. Who is to say the students of Patrick Henry College would not be favored with the same ignorance?

In Europe, unlike in America, religious leaders once wielded direct political power. And that is probably explains the EU's reluctance to include religion in their constitution. Is history really going to repeat itself? Haven't the world learnt its lesson the hard way?