America VS. Ancient Greece - Beliefs

For this entry, I think I'll hop on the bandwagon of talking about mythology. Now, I haven't chosen a major here at Stony Brook quite yet, but when I do, I feel like I'd get the most out of college if I choose something down the path of religious stories of the past or ancient history. I find that many of my classes can all relate back to Ancient Greece (finally reading The Iliad in one of my classes this year and getting to appreciate its perfection as an epic poem), and I always find that portion of the class the most interesting.
What makes Ancient Greek mythology so amazing, though, is how it literally shaped the culture and societal morals and standards of the time without actually interfering with human innovation; worshiping the gods was a daily part of life for every Athenian, but instead of "leaving matters up to the gods to decide," they are notoriously known as one of the first functioning democracies in history, meaning they knew the ultimate fate of the city was in their own hands. Mythology also obviously shaped art, as nearly all of the vase paintings, sculptures, and even architecture depict some sort of event from the life of the gods (the walls of The Parthenon depict stages of Athena's life, beginning with her conception from Zeus). Even theater was invented and popularized in the area to be part of a festival dedicated to the god Dionysus.

I compare life in Greece to the contemporary one of America and while most of us have differing opinions on religion and how things came to be, we're also a lot less unified because of it. Do we have to be this upset about a mosque being built so close to a landmark of tragedy? How many times a day will we hear comedians, authors, and sometimes even newscasters criticize the idea of Catholicism or Judaism simply because they don't believe in a god? While the actual thought of a supernatural being existing is now more up for debate than it ever was, perhaps living under the same belief of judgment and religious rules is a prime factor in not only staying on the same page as our peers, but even developing as a whole group and shaping history.