Here in the UK every village, every square, practically every place of learning built before the 60's and many built afterwards has a memorial, most of them containing religious imagery. Most local councils will, at Xmas, erect lights, trees, nativity scenes and goodwill messages, often wishing us a Happy Eid, Hanukkah and Christmas in twinkly lights all at tax payers expense and yet we are a far more secular country than the US.

I wonder if, far from religions invading public spaces the opposite has happened and the (largely secular) public have simply usurped the religious symbols for their own ends, robbing them of most, if not all, of their religious meaning in the process.

I'd be furious if someone tried to alter any of the war memorials that dot my part of London. The iconography doesn't offend me, in fact I barely see is religious and suspect that is true of many of my countrymen.

This says nothing about the situation in the US, I admit.