I do not believe they are as powerful as they want to believe, or want you to believe.

Before we all get our panties in a wad and throw temper tantrums about how the "far right" has "worked it's way through the separation of church and state", let's talk about what our Founding Father's ACTUALLY MEANT by "Separation of Church and State." Contrary to the opinion of some, the First Amendment doesn't require regulating religion into hiding; it requires that church and state remain institutionally separate. The mere expression of the word "God" in a speech does not a theocracy make. The idea was not to remove any trace of religion but to not promote any single religion over or above any other religion. Each citizen is supposed to have the freedom to choose whatever legitimate religion they desire. A good jumping off point toward understanding what Separation of Church and State REALLY means is Thomas Jefferson's "wall of separation letter" written to the Danbury Baptist Association in 1802 http://www.usconstitution.net/jeffwall.html In his "wall" letter, Jefferson states :"Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man & his god, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, and not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, thus building a wall of separation between church and state." Also take a look at the ACTUAL Establishment Clause: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." http://www.usconstitution.net/xconst_Am1.html Here is an article that I believe sums up the issue quite nicely: "To consider this issue, it is important to look at the historical situation of the framers and what they intended. To recap, they were declaring independence from the King of England. There is one important title for the monarch of England that is relevant to this issue, "Supreme Governor of the Church of England". Not only was the Church of England the official state religion (and still is), but the King himself was the head of that Church. This ensured that his political reach not only extended in the public realm, but from the pulpit. The hierarchy of the church was subservient to the king. This led to abuses in both directions, those by the church and those by the government. The founders did not declare independence from England because they wanted to set up a secular state. They declared independence because of a long train of abuses and usurpations of government power against its people. They were concerned about matters of tyranny, not theology. The Boston Tea Party was about taxes (and thus enshrined in American tradition the fine art of bitching about taxes), not about Baptists throwing Presbyterian's Bibles into the Atlantic. The Declaration itself made liberal use of religion in general, as did the Founders in their public statements. Even in Jefferson's Wall letter, he expresses religious sentiment and asks for prayers. It's obviously clear; it isn't religious expression they are worried about. The choice of phrase is important, "separation of church and state". Jefferson doesn't say separation of religion and state. He is talking about institutionalseparation. Ireland's official church is the Roman Catholic Church, as is Poland's. In England, it's the Church of England. These aren't religions in general but specific religious institutions. No nation has "Christianity" as the official state religion for a very good reason. The reason is that there's about 50,000-some odd flavors that run the gamut from the Mormons to the Unitarians. Some Christians say Jesus established a hierarchical church, others say he was a social activist, still others say he was an anarchist. Saying Christianity is the official state religion would border on effective meaninglessness. It wasn't the ideas that the Founders were afraid of which is why they were perfectly free praying together and expressing religious sentiment in public documents and speeches. Institutional corruption and tyranny were their concerns. The results of institutional mingling of churches and governments are quite clear in history and it hasn't been beneficial for the state or the church. However, this is a far cry from divining an intent that projects the idea that "religion is all that's wrong with the world" upon the Founders. There was a camp among the Founders who believed that a free society required a religious people and yet still continued to allow free association between the various churches." http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/01/11/0802412.php

i agree with mold, they aren't nearly as bada** as they think they are. though they have kinda scared me a couple times i must admit ;) lol!