Do Republicans want to return America to the days when Bible Belt conservatives made it a crime for stores to open on the Sabbath or for anyone to buy a cocktail in many counties?

Quietly, much of America slowly is following the path previously taken by Europe. Little noticed, secularism keeps climbing in the United States.

Some men are excited by watching computer-generated females killed, shot, stabbed, pierced by spears and arrows, etc. A remarkably large Internet industry has arisen to serve this disturbing craving.

During the health care debate, we forget that conservatives opposed the creation of social security, as well as voting rights for women and blacks.

It has just been revealed that former President George W. Bush told Jacques Chirac in early 2003 that Iraq must be invaded to thwart Gog and Magog, the Bible's satanic agents of the Apocalypse.

Looking into the soul of nature isn't just for world-class physicists. It can happen to anyone who ponders the awesome discoveries of science, from quarks to quasars.

Even well-educated folks often are vague about all that Albert Einstein did to become the planet's most famous scientist.

Some evangelists clamor for a return to the "moral" 1950s. But it's arguable that today's values are considerably more honorable.

Despite the election and the rise of the religious right, there are hints of rising U.S. secularism.

Alone, fundamentalism couldn't produce the worldwide fighting. Alone, ethnic politics couldn't produce the needed supply of suicide volunteers. But the combination of martyr-oriented faith and political mutiny makes the monstrous phenomenon.

Do we condition ourselves, like Pavlov's dog, to give knee-jerk reactions to stimuli? Also, some new research implies that beliefs may be partly genetic, locked into our DNA.

Thoughtful analysts conclude that President Bush sees only one side of a topic, not weighing possible consequences of his actions. Professor Katherine van Wormer of the University of Northern Iowa, an expert in addiction, says Bush has many qualities of a "dry drunk," a former alcoholic who stopped drinking but still thinks obsessively.

George Bush leads prayer sessions in the White House and repeatedly proclaims his devotion to Jesus. But he's a contradiction of the compassionate Christ. Jesus said "blessed are the peacemakers" -- but Bush scoffs at every peace initiative that might avert war.

Is President Bush accurate in saying his blitz against terrorism has nothing to do with Islam?

Even when we can't see a logical solution, continue trying. Sooner or later, an answer will work out, somehow.

Intelligent people must strive endlessly to bolster the humane elements of the psyche -- Christmas feelings -- and defuse the ugly ones.

Why does religion, which espouses kindness, is stained with so much gore?

Congress isn't debating the disturbing issues. Instead, members are stumbling toward acquiescence. And the American public has no voice in the matter.

Sept. 11 should be preserved as a global day of warning, cautioning humanity to beware of the ghastly mix of religion and hate.

Politicians are up in arms over a court ruling that prohibits public school students from saying the Pledge of Allegiance. Hopefully, this spasm of political piety will subside before the landmark principle of the founding fathers is damaged.