We Don’t Need God in the Pledge of Allegiance
The decision made by Judge Goodwin of the 9th Circuit Court in 2002 to remove the words “Under God” from the Pledge of Allegiance is completely justified constitutionally. The First Amendment specifically prohibits congress from passing a law “respecting an establishment of religion.” While anyone can say anything they like during a pledge, including “under God,” it cannot rightly be officially endorsed by the state, as a document such as the “Pledge of Allegiance” is. The opposition even recognizes this fact, as Sen. Joseph Lieberman demonstrated by stating that he and several others would propose a constitutional amendment to keep the Pledge the way that it is.
Some will argue that the word “god” in this usage is a generic term and can include any persons various deity when spoken as part of the Pledge. This argument is wholly misguided, as many religions have no gods whatsoever, such as Buddhism. There are also religions which focus on a “goddess,” such as Wicca. Lastly, there are the 15% of Americans who profess no belief in any god at all. This is coupled with the fact that it was the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic organization, who campaigned for the addition of the words in 1954, inevitable leads one to the conclusion that the words “under god” in pledge refer to a particular religions beliefs. The fact is that even if the term was meant to be generic it is still unconstitutional. Judge Goodwin writes “A profession that we are a nation ‘under God’ is identical, for Establishment Clause purposes, to a profession that we are a nation ‘under Jesus,’ a nation ‘under Vishnu,’ a nation ‘under Zeus,’ or a nation ‘under no god,’ because none of these professions can be neutral with respect to religion.“
The only reasonable decision to be made concerning the pledge is to return it to its pre-1954 version, which simply did not include the words “under God” but was otherwise the same version we use today. Not only is the post-1923/pre-1954 version of the Pledge constitutional (While the post-1954 version clearly is not.), it also includes all Americans, not just theists.
In a “Pledge of Allegiance” sponsored by the state, the fact that we are Americans weighs heavier that of religious preference. The supporters of the court’s decision are true patriots, while is detractors seek to undermine the integrity of the very foundation of this best of all nations: the Constitution.
I agree. There’s really no need to mention god. So was it taken out of the pledge of allegiance? (I’m Canadian, so I don’t really know what purpose the pledge serves)
Thank you for your reply, Em. The phrase has been stricken down in court twice now, but there is immense popular and political support for it. So, for now the fate of ‘under god’ is unknown. It is clear that any school who has children recite the pledge as it is will be on the losing side of a lawsuit.
As a Christian, I agree (imagine that), but for other reasons:
Pledging allegiance to a flag amounts to having another god before God with the American flag even accorded a higher place of honor than the Christian flag. (Let’s take another step forward in the separation of church and state by removing the American flag from the sanctuary altogether.)
With the growth of the state sovereignty movement, we’re not a “united states”.
I don’t believe we’re a true republic anymore (Ben Franklin said, “A republic if you can keep it”. Can’t you feel it slipping?)
Do you really believe we have liberty and justice for all in this country?
Yeah, I’m pretty sure God would like his name removed from the pledge since it consists of nothing but a series of lies.
Thank you for your reply.
“Do you really believe we have liberty and justice for all in this country?”
No, there continues to be a religiously inspired political persecution of several classes of individuals. Among these are atheist’s (there are still laws in several states barring atheists from holding political office) and homosexuals.
You’re welcome. I hope you’ll be patient with me as I’m still learning how to handle the atheist mindset with the grace that befits a Christian.
As to you’re reply, I would add that we’re not even close to solving race issues either.
Isn’t it ironic that the very people who left England because of persecution almost immediately started persecuting those who didn’t believe the same way as them? (I’m thinking of the Puritan treatment of Quakers.) If Christians can’t even keep from beating each other up, what hope is there that you and others on the “outside” will not get bloodied (hopefully only in a figurative sense)?
I agree that the “Under God” should be removed, though, I don’t even repeat the pledge as it states “one nation indivisible with liberty and justice for all” And, as we’ve seen recently (mostly with LGBT issues and the more noted Atheist moves), there just is no liberty and justice for all.
Point taken and rewrite complete. I apologize for my harshness but I’m still stinging from an atheist troll’s unkind comment on a music video I posted on YouTube (the comment had nothing to do with the song but was a personal remark about my appearance and a slam about Jesus). From your writing, you don’t strike me as that kind of atheist. I suppose there are good and bad in each camp.
Also, you caught me in the middle of editing my post. I usually strike while the iron is hot, then as I cool off, find wording that need to be toned down. I should really consider leaving posts in draft mode a bit longer.