Oh, heck, I must as well add yet another post for the day: I noticed at St. Teresa's yesterday that an American flag is displayed. It occurred to me that churches--at least Catholic churches--didn't show flags at one time. I looked it up on the Internet and learned the practice started during World War II. Oh, yes, I remember what went before that. It didn't include secular flags in church.
It seems to me that any person espousing religion (I guess any religion that believes in a being both divine and benign, but certainly Christian religions) should protest a flag in a place of worship. I understand that the bible records these words of Jesus: "My kingdom is not of this world." Doesn't that mean--or shouldn't it mean--that He desired the separation of church and state, the assumption being that his "kingdom" is of higher worth?
I don't go to church and don't believe the dogmas; I can, in fact, be described as agnostic, if not that other adjective that dare not speak its name. However, if I was suddenly struck with a bolt of belief, I would never go to a church that has an American flag in the building.
Why? If you have to ask, you'll never understand.