To paraphrase Joseph A. Zuchowski ("Politics and the Bible shouldn't mix," March 6), I hold that the election of a candidate to the most important elected position in this land should depend on his adherence to constitutional dictates.

Mr. Zuchowski asserts that "the Crusades, the Inquisition, the witch hunts and the deportations of religious minorities were all biblically based" without backing his claim or investigating history. The Crusades were more political than religious, though sponsored by "the church," and the Inquisition was almost thoroughly political. They were not based on obedience to the Bible. The Pilgrims, Puritans, Quakers and others who sought America for religious freedom did so of their own free will to make a more biblical society. It was building on their heritage when the founders crafted the Constitution, basing our freedom of religion in the Protestant doctrine of individual responsibility before God for one's soul.

Mr. Zuchowski essentially declares that those who strictly interpret the Bible are one and all anti-constitutionalists seeking to overthrow the government and impose a Judeo-Christian Sharia state. In fact, most of the staunchest religious-right social conservatives who take the Bible literally are also strict constructionists who take the actual text of the Constitution literally, and many of the staunchest defenders of the Constitution as written consider themselves Christians.

Mr. Zuchowski misquotes the First Amendment to suit his own humanist faith when he claims that it "states clearly, 'Congress shall make no law respecting religion and the free exercise thereof.' " The First Amendment actually says (emphasis mine) "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."

I believe the Bible and our Constitution are in no way incompatible, and though not every candidate believes in or lives by the Bible, I refuse to support any candidate or party who will not uphold the integrity of the Constitution.

Josh Griffing, Augusta