Founders correct on religious tests

The framers of our Constitution were well ahead of their time when they decided that there should be no religious test for public office. Judging from all the fuss over religion in the current presidential campaign, it seems that they were well ahead of our time as well. Even after 220 years, many among the electorate still insist that our candidates for high public office have to accept (or at least give lip service to) mainstream Christian values to be eligible for office.

One has to wonder if Thomas Jefferson (a Deist), Abraham Lincoln (a skeptic) or William Howard Taft (a Unitarian) would stand much of a chance if they ran for public office today? How many decent and talented people avoid careers in public office because the road to salvation they have chosen is "the one less traveled by" or because they refuse to let their most private views be subjected to public scrutiny?

The day will eventually come when a candidate's religious views have no greater affect on their ability to be elected than their preference for one vegetable over another. Unfortunately, I doubt that I will live to see it.

Stephen R. Blount

Wheaton