The politics of God are very much alive, but the policies of God are all but dead.
For 2000 years, the church defended and upheld the teachings of Aristotle and brought down its considerable wrath upon all who defied his completely erroneous thinking; see Joan of Arc, Giordano Bruno, and Galileo to name but three. Common sense, reason, and science have laid the ghosts of pre-scientific thought to rest for all but a few of the stubborn and superstitious such as the Flat Earth Society and the Fundamentalists.
Wise men of the pre-Christian era knew that the earth was a sphere and had measured it to within a few hundred miles of accuracy. The atomist theory of matter was advanced by several. And even after humanism had to go underground for several centuries, that body of thought survived and exploded on the scene with the Renaissance, thus dealing religion its severest blow. Even before Copernicus, da Vinci had written in his mirror reversed hand, "The sun does not move, it is the earth that moves."
In the face of this new enlightenment, the church was forced to go on a rampage of damage control to maintain its tenuous hold on the mind of man; it's been down-hill ever since. Virtually every position the church has maintained and defended has been either proven false or completely ignored by all but the ignorant, benighted, unwashed few. In no special order, the list of stands the church holds sacred, the institutions and theories it defends, are (in part) these;
Women: regarded as less than chattle, and to this day still, admonished to be subservient to men. There is little need to amplify or enlarge further.
Manifest Destiny and the treatment of aboriginals in the New World: millions were slaugtered while the church turned a blind eye.
Prohibition: inspired and pushed through by the Christian Temperance Women, only to backfire and bring misery to millions, proving once and for all that you can't legislate morality.
Crime (in general): thought to be the work of Satan, proven to be the activity of the masses. Crime is this Nation's largest employer and the mover of more money through our economy than any other activity. To prove this point, simply try to envision how our society and its economy would be with the total absence of all crime: no police, no private security industry (rent-a-cops, etc.), no lawyers, no judges, no courts. no FBI, no ATF, no law makers (senators, representatives, county supervisors, city councilpersons, etc.), no criminal justice system of any kind, half as many firefighters (arson and criminal code violations account for most fires), half as many doctors, nurses, and hospitals (with all their supporting personnel) to take care of all the stabbings, beatings, shootings, poisonings, and a host of others injuries and ailments brought about as the result of crime, no more lock, key, and safe industry, few walls and fences would be needed, the media (TV, news- papers, etc. would have to lay off thousands without crime stories and dramas), the paper industry would all but collapse, two million inmates would have to be released, a million hookers would have to be cared for, and the number of industies, large and small, that supply all the cars, vans, buses, helicopters, uniforms, medical supplies, and thousands of other products and services that are needed as the result of crime, would simply disappear. Without all crime, tens of millions would be instantly unemployed, millions upon millions of square feet of real estate would lie vacant, and the domino effect from all this would bring ruin. And just who is committing all this crime? There aren't enough atheists and freethinkers around to hold accountable. Got any ideas? The ads say "Take a bite out of crime." (Don't take too big a bite, it just may cost you your job or business.)
Alternative religions: over 19 million people belong to "religious" organizations other than mainstream sects...and growing! Go to the net and you'll find page after page of listings. And since atheism, humanism, and freethinking are not "religions," you can add another 10 million (a conservative estimate) to the above figure. To this staggering figure, you must add, in all fairness, all those who profess a religion but do not practice it; now we're approaching well over two thirds of the adult population.
Superstitions and highly unlikely beliefs: the existence of and visitations of alien beings is nearly universal. Belief in the paranormal (astrology, numerology, tarot cards, ESP, etc.) is pandemic. Angels and demons are everywhere.
Homsexuality: not only is homosexuality legal (as it should be), but is being defended by many clergy. Gays are now functioning openly in every field of activity, from the arts to politics.
Divorce: every Bible believing Christian who has divorced and remarried is living in sin. There is no concession for divorce in the Bible.
Cloning: man doing "God's" work.
War: I won't even bother with this one. (Except to say that Germany, Italy, Japan, China, Russia, and all the rogue nations that brought unjustified war upon their neighbors were "deeply" religious nations.)
Clinton: elected as an accused adulterer and re-elected as an admitted sinner. Who needs religion when the economy is booming?
Gambling and other vices: 30 million people a year visit the gaming tables and flesh pots of Las Vegas alone, and this venue is but one of thousands now legal in 34 states...and growing! Between 500 thousand and a million hookers, call girls, "escorts," and masseuses are turning 5 to 15 tricks A DAY (do the math).
Pornography: the net is awash in hardcore porn, as are magazines and other publications to be found everywhere. Adult videos and sex toys are produced and sold by the millions. Who's buying all this stuff?
Evolution and modern science; we are surrounded by the evidence of valid science. Its use pervades medicine, agriculture, manufacturing, and is gratefully accepted by all, even as it is denounced by those who fear it. The Biblical man was lucky to see 30, modern man is good for an average age of 75, thanks to hated science.
Sectarianism: even the most monolithic of religions is fractured into endless splinter groups, each maintaining theirs as the truth. The Tower of Bable is one of the few myths that we may accept as true. The three most notable examples of alleged unity are Judiasm, Catholicism, and Christian Fundamentalism...and look at them! All broken down into endless waring factions over the most basic tenets of their belief systems. They can't all be right.
Masturbation: 9 out of 10 will admit that they masturbate, and the 10th is a liar.
Guns: why does a "Christian" nation need as many guns as there are people?
The homeless and poverty; If Jesus came back to day, He'd have a hissy fit.
Child and spousal abuse: (see above)
White collar crime: men and women with surplus money in the bank become felons to get more. If you want to know what God thinks of money, look to those He gives it to.
Black collar crime: (crimes of the clergy) This subject would require an entire book to do it justice. This embarrassment is one that cannot be dealt with by the church. Their only comeback is to say that the guilty were not true believers in the first place.
Vanity: (a Christian sin) the vanity business is one of the largest industries in the world, patronized by men and women alike. Its yearly revenue is in the tens of billions in this country alone.
Tatooing and body piercing: the Christian Bible specifically forbids these practices. The body is a sacred temple not to be marked or mutilated in any way.
Ecology: old Mother Earth is being raped by greed and total disregard by those whom God has put in charge. But what the Hell, it is all going to be over anyhow when the Apocalypse comes, so what's the difference?
If God has spoken why does the world remain unconvinced?
In the final analysis, what really counts in this world is not so much what is true, right, or appropriate, but rather, what one can get away with and get others to accept.