Editor:
I have become particularly alarmed by the amount of people who are under the perception that this country was founded by Christians. In a recent letter to the editor (which was fabulous, aside from the comment I am about to mention), a Santa Monica resident stated that this country was "founded by Christians and the Constitution is an implementation of Christian principles" ("Paying lip service to God," Letters to the Editor, Sept. 14). He also went on to say that "nothing will ever be able to change that fact." This statement is simply not true. Most of the most prominent of our founding fathers, responsible for writing the constitution, were actually Deists. In fact, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, Thomas Paine, Benjamin Franklin, and finally the man who is considered to be "the father of our constitution," James Madison were all not Christians. Though the majority of our country is Christian, and many of the men who ratified the constitution were Christians, the most brilliant and influential minds responsible for founding our nation, writing our constitution, and running this country from its inception were not Christians.
Ashley Fisher
Santa Monica
