THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, May 21, 1996 TAG: 9605210010
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A14 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Short : 24 lines
To set the record straight, this country's founding fathers were, by and large, deists. The ``Judeo-Christian heritage'' thing has a nice ring to it, but it is, at best, an overgeneralization.
Regardless of how offensive and ``sinful'' some behavior may seem, we must understand that religious beliefs must never be allowed to influence government policy. That was the intent of our deist founding fathers (Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin, et al.). Let us not be too quick to forget what has happened in the past to governments that ruled by their interpretation of the divine word.
TODD N. LeVECK
Virginia Beach, May 3, 1996 by CNB