What both sides must realize is that if you weaken healthy religion, it just manifests as unhealthy religion. When people stop believing in anything, they believe in everything. People worship minority identities and rights, canceling and exiling those who blaspheme again their gods.  People worship a false savior who alone can save us from the demonic threats all around.  Bad religion is extremely dangerous, but not at all new. If we had to pick one summary theme of the entire Old Testament and its 2000 years of Godly wisdom, we’d have to say its a warning against idolatry-bad religion. Jesus continues the warning, often in words, but always in his unparalleled example. Throughout the Gospels, including today’s reading, Jesus reminds us of the stark difference between kingdom power and political power, religion and politics, a distinction we must recover if we wish blessing on ourselves and our politics.