Editor, Gazette-Journal:

In the letter in the Gazette-Journal Oct. 4 opinion page, Jonnie Adams states that America was established 200 years ago as one nation under God and that in order to flourish we should once again become a nation under God. Nowhere in the Constitution does it state that America is a Christian nation. The words "Under God" were added to the Pledge of Allegiance in 1954. The words "In God We Trust" were added to paper currency in 1957. People came to North America to escape religious persecution, not to establish a state religion.

The First Amendment clearly states that Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion. If one wants to see what a nation established in religious law looks like, take a look at Afghanistan.

Individual rights are severely restricted and consequences for going against Sharia law are extreme by our standards. This is definitely not a road we should be going down. Church law trumping individual rights is an extremely scary image of the future and throwback to over 400 years ago to the very reason the first settlers came here. Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

Thomas Hunley

Cobbs Creek, Va.