I like when people try to pretend that "religion" dictates things like the average American's stance on gay marriage. This is where the frustration comes from. You're lashing out at the wrong bogeyman. Religion isn't the problem. Ignorance is.
Do you honestly think the Church's viewpoint on gay marriage is the reason it's been excluded from American law? If the Pope came out tomorrow and said gay marriage is just as valid as straight marriage, do you think even 1% more of Americans would be willing to vote in favor of gay marriage? Let me spare you the suspense: the answer is no. Ol' Billy Bob in Little Rock isn't voting in favor of gay marriage, period, ever. Homosexuality between adult men had been ridiculed and ostracized for thousands of years before Jesus was ever even born. It's a prejudice that existed long before religion, and would continue to exist thereafter.
Let's move onto capital punishment. Pope John Paul II issued an edict stating that in modern times, capital punishment should be practically obsolete, as it should not be used so long as there is a method to protect society from the offender without putting him to death (ie: imprisonment). Did that change anything in the US? Of course not. The Church is firmly against the use of condoms. Take a look at Trojan's quarterly numbers. Doesn't look like religion is really doing much there, either.
Was Christ a member of the NRA? Because somehow they still have a sizable constituency. Hitler, Stalin, Mao -- they managed to put together some of the most horrific atrocities in the history of our species without citing any religious justification. And literally millions of people cheered them on while they did it.
Organized religion opens its own can of worms -- it's not what this thread was originally about. It's entirely different from "belief in God". But even regarding organized religion, you're giving it more credit than it deserves. In America, when organized religion tells people what they want to hear, they listen. When it doesn't, they don't. It's not 1100 anymore. The vast majority of Americans live their lives based on prejudices and ignorances which are mostly or wholly independent of religion, even if they don't know it. People interpret religion to support whatever they want it to.
You show me where in the Bible it says stem cell research is illegal.
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