Read your constitution.

I find it terrifying that Art. I sec 4 of the Michigan constitution (of 1963) gives citizens of that state the right "to worship God according to the dictates of his own conscience". This defines quite clearly what I can worship in the first place--God--which can be used to identify a god not Judeo-Christian, but just as clearly defines a monotheistic creator deity in accepted parlance by its capitalization--what if I want to worship my ancestors, or a pantheistic god? It also tells me (by omission) that I cannot NOT worship--it fails to include "for those who wish to worship God, they can do so according to the dictates etc etc".

Also, further down in the same Article it states "The civil and political rights, privileges and capacities of no person shall be diminished or enlarged on account of his religious belief" ...which underlines the terrifying fact that if we say "I have no religious belief" we de facto remove ourselves from the protection of State law and can subsequently have our privileges diminished. Granted, we have federal protections still, but the wording of this article remains deeply disturbing. The fact that it has never been challenged (and thus interpreted by the courts of Michigan) underlines just how much the citizens of the state take the facts articulated therein for granted.

If you think I'm going a bit far in my reasoning, consider Art. IV sec 47, which states "The legislature may authorize the employment of chaplains in state institutions of detention or confinement" which makes priests working in prisons state employees. Have these people never heard of the separation of church and state? But sec 47 would never exist without the hideous assumptions hidden between the lines in sec 4.

This reminds me of when I was invited to join the Masons. The final pledge of membership includes an oath in the name of the "great architect", which pre-supposes belief in a creator deity. In other words, if you want to be a Mason, you have to believe in God. It seems to me, in parallel, that if I want to be welcome in the state of Michigan and enjoy the protection of its laws, I have to believe in God.