I would ask, in response to that, why society should govern based on the religious principles of one group within that society?
A society governs based on the principles of its citizens. In a society where the majority of people are religious, yes, the principles of the majority will conform to so-called "religious principles". In a society where the majority of people are not religious, the principles held by the people may well differ from "religious principles". So what?
Perhaps, for example, you believe that marriage is a basic human right, and that forbidding same-sex marriages is the same as forbidding interracial marriages. Based on those principles, you might vote in favor of same-sex marriage. I, on the other hand, believe that men and women have basic innate differences. Men and women are of
equal value but they are not the
same. Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus, and all that. (By comparison, for example, I believe a person's skin color is as insignificant as his/her hair color.) I also believe that society has a right to define marriage. Based on those principles, I would vote against same-sex marriage.
We all vote based on our principles, regardless of where we obtained those principles. I am missing your point as to why voting based on religious principles is any less valid or less democratic than voting based on the principles held by a non-religious person.
