After last week's news of protests over Christian and Athiest displays at

the state capitol, I feel compelled to write:

This country was absolutely created to be officially non-religious. That

doesn_t mean that everyone is an athiest or that the majority of people are

not religious. It means that it was extremely important to keep religion out

of government and government out of religion. It is based on the idea that

religion is between man and God and that government has no place in the

middle or endorsing one belief over another. Thomas Jefferson wrote that it

was _important to create a wall of separation between church and state_.

This is arguably the main reason our country was founded.

With that in mind, the founding fathers were strong proponents of religious

tolerance and keeping religion out of government.

This implies that one religion is not better, or dominant over another, and

can be inferred that America does not endorse any religion, and certainly

not any one religion over another.

Did you know that 'Under God' was not added to the pledge of allegiance

until 1954?

Did you know that 'In God we Trust' was added to the first US coin in 1864,

when a waive of religious idealism swept through the US after the Civil War?

Did you know that houses of worship do not pay taxes as another way of

separating church and state?

The reason people get upset about seeing a religious icon or teachings being

displayed at a court-house, street corner, school or other government entity

is because it violates the objective of our first amendment. And it is

maddening that so many people in this country don_t recognize this

violation. People who speak up when they see a manger displayed on public

property aren_t necessarily opposed to a manger display. They are opposed to

it being displayed by representatives of the US government on government

property.

Recently we have tried to be more "tolerant" by erecting Menorah's and

Kenara's, and this year, athiestic banners next to the manger on public

property, with little success.

I believe that we should uphold the separation of church and state as the

constitution mandates, and therefore display religious icons and teachings

only on private property.

Robin Westler

West Seattle