[MNJohnnie]

every empire must be bound together by a common set of cultural values founded in religion.

Another example of the utter stupidity of the man. Rome had no such common religious values. Rome had all sort of different religious groups and sects. In fact the Romans BOASTED about worshiping all the gods.

[chesley]

Further factual distortions. Sparta was a slave state based, not on the works of the Spartans, themselves, but on that of the , which Sparta controlled brutally.

The actual Spartan citizens were raised like worker bees. Called 'the Upbringing', it, too, was brutal. There was no individual freedom in Sparta. Athens was better, but most of the residents were not citizens with political rights, but resident aliens, or slaves. Think for yourself what this means for present day America.

[IronJack]

a common set of cultural values founded in religion

I think you misread the quote. It doesn't say "a set of cultural values founded in a common religion." The VALUES are what bind, not necessarily the religion. If Religion A begets the same values as Religion B, then the culture has sufficient mortar to bind it.

At least that's my reading ...