Boss
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I agree in part, but this notion is in disagreement to the OP. Secularism doesn't mean you or I or any of the Founders set aside our beliefs as to the Creator or natural laws or morals derived from the Creator. But we have to accept that our views are no more or less valid than anyone else's.The United States Constitution is secularist in its purposeful construction! To reject the purpose of the Constitution's secular nature is to reject its foundational principles of equality and freedom!
I disagree. There is nothing "secular" in our Constitution. As a matter of fact, the very foundation on which the Constitution rests is non-secular. All men are created equal and endowed by their Creator specific rights. The part that seems to cause you confusion is the 1st Amendment, where government is prohibited from establishing a religion. This doesn't render the Constitution secular in nature it is merely an amended restriction on the power of government.
The very concept of equality and freedom (inalienable rights) is impossible without belief in a power greater than man in which we derive such rights. Secularism would very much make inalienable rights alienable by man. We cannot be "endowed by our Creator" if there is no Creator.
What the First Amendment establishes is that government cannot dictate who/what that "Creator" is for you, the individual. Nor can it compel you to worship one, believe in one or acknowledge one. Again, that doesn't make it secular.
There are always fault lines. Abortion for example. How far can we go in compelling another not go in losing a fetus or zygot.
This is one of the reasons the founders favored Federalism. They wanted the states to have the freedom to determine these kinds of issues for themselves and the Federal government to step back and take a neutral role. Think of it in terms of how much individual liberty you have in both scenarios... When you are one voice of 350 million, you have less influence than when you are one voice in 800,000. You have less say and your community has less say in the way you live your life... that's what the founding fathers didn't want from federal government.