Letter: Truth on issue is in Constitution

Sunday, July 18, 1999 | 11:11 a.m.

Jenings should read the U.S. Constitution. "God" is never mentioned or referred to in that document. This was not an oversight by our founding fathers, but a chosen decision made after much debate and deliberation. Because of that wise decision by Jefferson, Madison and others, our rights and privileges are not restricted based on our religious beliefs (as they are today in Iran, for example).

Jenings brags that the United States survived two world wars and a depression because it is a "nation under God." He should be made aware that those events occurred before the words "under God" were added to our pledge of allegiance in 1954. And it was not until 1956, reacting to the anti-communist hysteria in this country, that Congress passed the bill establishing "In God We Trust" as a national motto.

I challenge Jenings to show us how the addition of those words to our pledge and the reference to God in our national motto have significantly improved the morality of our society.

The United States is not a great nation because it is based on religious belief. It is a great nation because it is based on the principal that personal beliefs (such as religion) cannot be endorsed or hindered by our government. The United States is a great nation because our Constitution gives us the right to believe in God or not believe in God without government coercion.

MEL LIPMAN

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