Dear Editor, ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ The Pitt News has never been a conservative or’ unbiased newspaper, but… Dear Editor, ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ The Pitt News has never been a conservative or’ unbiased newspaper, but Matthew Diabes” Sept. 24′ column, ‘Church and state should stay separate,’ crosses a line of decency. He’ distorts the idea of separation of church and state and’ misrepresents Christianity, among other things. ‘ ‘ ‘ Concerning’ the separation of church and state, he claims that the idea was established in order to protect the government from’ any religious’ influence when, in fact, the main idea behind it’ was to protect the people from a government that would impose a specific’ brand of religion’ on everyone. The separation of church and state actually protects the right of the people to practice their religion in the way they see fit, and that includes voting their moral conscience as formed by religion. ‘ ‘ ‘ I find it disturbing that Diabes claims that this very freedom to vote based on our conscience is’ ‘our country’s growing religion problem.’ I think that the bigger problem is that people like Matthew stereotype Christians as warmongers and fanatics in order to undermine our fundamental rights.’ Not all of us thought the Iraq war was just,’ and not all of us blindly support the Republican’ Party’ and many of its’ paradoxical policy positions.’ The people of this’ country’ may use and misuse their religious views to determine the direction we are going in, but let us never undermine the very fundamentals of America by claiming that they do not have the right to do so. ‘ Peter McPherson School of Dental Medicine ’11