As a person of faith who voted for John Kerry, I must challenge John Bice's ignorant statements in his column "Bush supporters share common thread with fundamentalists," (SN 11/10). His statements labeling people of faith as uneducated and separated from reality are insults to individuals of all faiths.

I do not know whom the 2003 Harris Poll surveyed for its findings, but they were not people of my community of faith, most of whom hold advanced degrees. Those who do not, like my mother, had to forgo further education in order to work to support her parents and siblings. Furthermore, people of faith founded most of America's prestigious universities, including Harvard and Wellesley.

Bice's arguments are further undermined by many examples of individuals who stood against injustice because of religious faith. I would say Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcom X, Mother Teresa - a person who believed "Jesus exists in cheap wine and thin wheat wafers" - and Mahatma Gandhi were all people grounded in reality and religious faith. Not to mention the unknown numbers of people who serve the sick, the poor and the marginalized throughout the world at great personal sacrifice, because their religious faith has called them to live for something greater than their own comfort and security.

Scientific inquiry has given society many positive and negative things, and so has religion. I hope one day Bice will remove his blinders and admit that religion can sometimes be a force for positive change in society.

Anne Samuel Crain
social work graduate student