Freedom of religion=Freedom FROM religion??

[Immortal Goat]

I was in a conversation with my mother recently and she said that just because we, as American citizens, have the freedom to follow whatever beliefs we want, that does not mean that we have the freedom to NOT believe anything. We have the right to be agnostic and atheist, but she thinks that if religion were to stay out of the public eye entirely, then this country would be the next Soddom and Gamorrah (sp?). I however, feel that the farther away from the public religion gets, the better off we all are. What are your opinions?