We see too well everyday what religion can do to a state. The Enlightenment secular values that we hold dear today—equal treatment under the law, equal opportunity for all, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, civil rights and civil liberties for everyone, the equality of women and minorities, and especially the separation of church and state and the freedom to practice any religion or no religion at all—were inculcated into the minds of Jews and Christians and others in the West, but not so much in Muslim countries, particularly when it comes to those who would prefer a return to a 7th century theocracy.

Herein lies the most profound meaning of this seismic shift in the tectonic plates of religious belief. We’ve seen militant Islamism and what happens when people take their faith seriously and refuse to accept the hard-won secular values of the West. As Islamic State forces destroy the remnants of thousands of years of civilization in the name of its religion it is time we renounce faith altogether as a reliable method of determining reality and morality. It’s time we stop electing politicians who put their religion before the Constitution or insist that they will pray before making political decisions (like going to war), and instead rely on the best tools ever devised for advancing humanity out of the trees and to the stars—reason and science.