They grew from 5 percent of the population in 1970 to more than 22 percent in 2010 and the trend has continued. Evangelical groups have made particular inroads among urban working Brazilians who benefited from economic prosperity over the last two decades and are now demanding a greater say in politics.

That religious education should be legal at a primary and secondary level was determined by the Pierce decision in 1925, which concerned an effort at that time to suppress Catholic education. Federal law and regulation since that time has protected the right of religious schools to teach a distinctively religious curriculum.

The US involvement in anti-gay rights international activity has become so intense that one of the premier gay rights groups in the country, the Human Rights Campaign, started up a special "global engagement program" last year to track their activities and help gay rights activists abroad.

In other words, because the "born gay" idea has proved so useful, the fact that there's virtually no scientific support for the theory hardly matters. It's an idea that has worked wonders for gay activists and their allies.