Americans dare not be smug, as if this were occurring only in the Middle East. The wall of separation between church and state is crumbling, and the SCOTUS as presently constituted will not be satisfied until it's gone. It's been decades since anyone has successfully challenged a church's right to promote Republican political campaigns from the pulpit, and our taxes now support religious education.

Protecting the patriarchy is, of course, the subtext, as it is in every conservative political decision.