So despite what Carstonio says about “reasonable” atheists, there are indeed modern objections.
I assumed Eaton Shirdlu’s “publicly sanctioned” comment was about symbols on government property, involving a specific First Amendment issue, and not about symbols in general. Eaton, was that the case?
“People who have grown used to the perks of cultural hegemony will find it difficult to give them up.”
Why would they have to give them up?
Evolution. Consider for a moment the historical examples of Soviet Russia (and before them, the Tsars), South African whites, slave owners of the American Confederacy. Consider the Incas, Imperial Rome, the French monarchy, and, of course, the trilobites, who ruled the sea floor for tens of millions of years.
The commandment against erecting graven images (i.e., substituting “false gods”) indicates only that Yahweh is jealous. Most of the ill fortune that befell “His” people is a result of “His” wrath against them for violating that commandment.