Separation of Church and People

From BBC news:

An atheist group has backed a decision by a healthcare trust to suspend a nurse who said she would pray for an elderly patient.
Caroline Petrie, a Christian mother of two from Weston-super-Mare, was suspended by North Somerset Primary Care Trust in December.
The 45-year-old is now awaiting the outcome of a disciplinary hearing.
In a statement the National Secular Society (NSS) said it was inappropriate for health workers to "evangelise".
Keith Porteous-Wood, the executive director of NSS said: "Medical practitioners are, quite rightly, not to be permitted to offer religious services to patients."

I don't know about this. "Religious services"? It seems to me that prayer, at worst, does nothing, and at best it would actually heal people. What's wrong with a nurse offering to pray for you?

In our country, we value the separation of Church and State. But more and more these days, it seems like what secularists really want is just separation of Church and people.

Freedom of religion is ultimately meaningless if it is not allowed to intersect with all parts of your life. A religion is not a private commitment. It is a total commitment that encompasses every aspect of your being, including both public and private affairs.

Of course there are some behaviors that can't be justified on "religious" grounds. For instance, bombing civilians is never acceptable, even if done in the name of God.

But praying for patients? You've got to wonder what makes secularists so uptight.