Your understanding of history, and the role of religion in the West is severely lacking. Western society is built on Platonic philosophy/principles and by extension, Enlightenment thought. Much of what you think are "Christian principles" either pre-date Christianity or have developed alongside it.
Platonic principles are at peace with the practice of slavery. On the other hand, slavery is incompatible with Christian principles. You over simplify the impact of Christianity on society by focusing on a few concepts derived from the Greeks as if they were the significant components of Western culture.
It is this concept of "equal" that is alien to Plato, but inherent in Christian teachings.
Christianity has certainly played a role in the development of Western Society, that is an obvious truism, but Christianity itself has evolved and changed over the millenia....so its a moving target. Christianity was not some monolithic entity imposing its imprint on the Western world, rather, it was a melange of widely varied philosophies developed from a core concept centered around the teachings of Jesus. Teachings which in their original form bear striking similarities, for example, to those of Buddha. Since the very early church, concepts of what those teachings mean...and which teaching are valid...have varied dramatically.
Further, life is sacred to many varying faiths...moreso, in some cases (Buddhism for example), than is the case in Christianity...so your concern about wholesale slaughter related to the absence of Christianity is ridiculous.
We are in no danger of society embracing Buddhism once the Christian culture is purged. The danger we face is of society embracing what came before Christianity. If they don't embrace paganism or some other deviant spirituality, the people will embrace something even worse.
Only the Atheists have succeeded in surpassing the death toll of Islam.
That sort of thing happens with and without Christianity, as has been the case throughout history. There ARE faiths, such as Islam, that encourage barbarism and brutality...but there are many others that have ethics and history far more pacifist and respecting of life.
We are not going to get one of those. We will get Islam or worse.
The question of gay marriage has nothing do with religious belief...if a particular religion disapproves, it need not sanction gay marriage within its own practice.
The Christian religion teaches that God destroys homosexuals and everyone that associates with them.
Not only does it say in plain language that Homosexuals need to die, it gives two very clear examples of entire cities being destroyed because of Homosexuals. (Sodom and Gomorrah,
and the Battle of Gibeah.)
Some faiths, including many Christian groups, do sanction marriage with THEIR practice.
It is not a matter of opinion. It is a clearly stated and clearly demonstrated prohibition. That they chose to deliberately ignore it does not suddenly make it factually correct.
The problem is that government should have no role in the marriage business...it should neither recognize, nor offer benefit or detraction, to anyone based on marital status. Marriage is a private religious matter, not a governmental one.
This nonsense again. Yes, the government (and society at large) does have a vested interest in this business known as Marriage. Not only do inheritance issues need to be addressed by the government, but so too do issue of custody and guardianship.
Speaking bluntly, it is in the best interest of both government and society to make new people. They form the tax base that feeds the beast we call "government." It is in the best interest of government to have well adjusted and non-insane members of society.
The current crop of dysfunctional kooks from which we currently suffer is to a large extent the consequence of governmental policies that helped destroy the stable two parent family.
Christian culture is a load-bearing structural component of this system of governance. People don't realize how important it is because it has always been here.
