Does Freedom of Religion Still Exist in America?

Tweet

I grew up in a Catholic country. Although our religious beliefs could be practiced publicly, no one was forced to convert to our religion. For example, if mass was said in our school, the non-Catholics and non-Christians were exempted. If another group wanted to build a church, or mosque, in the neighborhood, they were able to do so. So I was quite perplexed when I came here to America. It appears to me that religion is treated here as if it were a crime by Americans. For example, having a moment of silence in public schools is considered a violation of the separation of church and state. How is that so? Is anyone being forced to pray or to convert to a particular religion? Moments of silence are held to remember people who died, but no one objects to that. When I looked into the meaning of "separation of church and state", I found out that when Americans revolted against England, Anglicans had to renounce the King of England as the head of the church, since the king also dictated what church members should and should not believe. So the Episcopalian church was born. It was Anglican in nature but the major difference is that the King of England no longer headed this church. Civil leaders and religious leaders were now separate. Since then, Americans were now free to worship as they please. So why is it that the public display of religion is viewed as coercion to convert to a particular religion? I can't even say "Merry Christmas" anymore to people at work because this was considered wrong. So it seems to me that people here don't have the freedom to express their religious beliefs, which contradicts the American notion of "freedom of religion." Can someone explain why Americans are so hateful of religion?