I find the assertion that “…we do fear …religious fundamentalism” from the letter in your 12/5 edition (“Carlson misses real threat”) ironic, as I have been thinking exactly the opposite.

If you look at what is wrong in our country, from the current financial woes caused mostly by greedy, selfish, or thoughtless people, to the various crimes of large or small degree, all are caused by people who are lacking what true religion (at least Christianity) brings – character, moral good sense, peace of mind, contentment, and other benefits that make for a stable and healthy society. The more real Christianity we have in our society (and I admit people who claim to be Christians fall short of perfection by varying degrees), the better off our society is going to be. In saying this I am not, incidentally, discounting the value of other faiths.

The life of making your own choices outside of God’s will is not a life of freedom; one ends up being a slave to habits or thoughts or ways of living that detract from true life.

I am not suggesting that we switch to a theocracy, I think that would be contrary to our national interest. But I would assert that true religion can only be a positive factor in our country, and that many of our social problems are due to a lack of it.

Daniel Hochberg, Seattle