I hold that the election of a candidate to the most important elected position in this land should not depend on his or her adherence to biblical dictates.

We are frequently told that God is being driven from our land and institutions, yet nine out of 10 Americans believe in God. Our current president fulfills the criteria of a faithful follower, and we only have to observe the state of the nation to know where that has gotten us.

Many people in the Middle East struggle under growing Islamic fundamentalism. Does anyone here think that the creation of a Christian theocracy would be any better? The framers of the Constitution were well aware of the horrors of a church-and-state union, for Europe had seen nearly 14 centuries of religious war and oppression. The Crusades, the Inquisition, the witch hunts and the deportations of religious minorities were all biblically based.

The conservative attacks on such freedoms as a woman's right to choose are ensconced in those self-same views. Have the anti-choice proponents ever asked why an omniscient, omnipotent and benevolent God would allow a woman whom He knows will abort that fetus to become pregnant, while the prayers of those desperate for motherhood go unheeded?

Returning to the Constitution, the First Amendment states clearly, "Congress shall make no law respecting religion and the free exercise thereof." To those who feel that our Constitution should be discarded in favor of submission to biblical law, do you truly understand what you are seeking? I ask, What part of "no law" don't you understand?

Joseph A. Zuchowski, Augusta