Bible replaces Constitution?

Re “Evangelicals may never take Romney on faith,” Dec. 7

Mitt Romney made a speech that he should not have had to make. I believe that religion has become an issue only because of the apparent contempt that the right wing has for our Constitution. Since the Reagan administration, we have seen a continuous erosion of our constitutional rights. This has reached a zenith in the current administration. Article VI states that all individuals in a legislative, judicial and executive position be bound by oath or affirmation to support the Constitution. It further states that “no religious test shall ever be required as qualification to any office.”

The Republican Party, at the behest of the religious right, has created a de facto test. Not one candidate, Democrat or Republican, has questioned this. Any time someone takes a pro-Constitution stance, he is accused of being “anti-Christian.” I am not anti-Christian, I am pro-Constitution. I wish more of our elected and appointed leaders were also pro-Constitution. As a person of faith whose grandparents came to this country to escape persecution and enjoy the freedoms and opportunities our Constitution offers, I find the current state of affairs appalling and frightening.

Peter Friedkin

Laguna Niguel

In his address on religion, Romney made some historical errors. He asserted, “Americans acknowledge that liberty is a gift of God, not an indulgence of government. No people in the history of the world have sacrificed as much for liberty.”

Both statements are incorrect. “God” is never mentioned in the Constitution. Rather, the freedoms Romney wrongly thinks were “gifted” to the American people from “God” actually came from the American people themselves (the specific wording in the preamble has “We the people” quite literally giving liberty “to ourselves”). The word “gift” is never used. Romney overlooks our Soviet allies’ major contribution to World War II, to the tune of about 23 million dead. The Soviet Union was not a free society within its own borders, but its contribution to the Allied victory in terms of casualties outstrips the U.S. figure of more than 400,000 by an astronomical amount.

William Lorton

Los Angeles

Romney said, “There is no freedom without religion.” Not only is this insulting to atheists but clearly has no basis in fact. For example, Saudi Arabia is arguably the most religious country in the world. Every action there is monitored by religious police, and if they see someone do anything they don’t like, they can beat you or cut off some appendage. If this is what Romney means by freedom, I’m on my way to Canada.

Julia Dunphy

Harbor City

I remember when candidates placed their hands on a Bible and pledged their support for the Constitution. Now they place their hands on the Constitution and pledge their support for the Bible. That rumbling is our founding fathers withering in pain as they turn in their coffins.

Gary Coyne

South Pasadena