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Thomas Jefferson wrote the Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom to explain that each man has the right to practice any religion they please as long as it does not harm others. In addition, government cannot show favoritism when it comes to religion. After having the definition of “separation of church and state” laid out in front of you, it is surprising to realize what may have seemed normal growing up for most children, is in fact unconstitutional. In this paper, we will discuss the issue of the pledge of allegiance in public schools. In the case of West Virginia Bd. Of Ed. v. Barnette (1943), parents and children of Jehovah’s Witness religion were facing punishment for not participating in the pledge of allegiance. According to court
documents in West Virginia Bd. Of Ed v. Barnette: Children of this faith have been expelled from school and are threatened with exclusion for no other cause. Officials threaten to send them to reformatories maintained for criminally inclined juveniles. Parents of such children have been prosecuted and are threatened with prosecutions for causing delinquency. (630) The Board of Education argued that to deny the pledge of allegiance was an unconstitutional denial of religious freedom on their end. Although both sides seem to have valid personal arguments, one must realize that the money of taxpayers are being put into the schools. The constitutional rights of the taxpayers should be put up front and foremost. The court ultimately ruled in favor of Barnette stating, “To believe that patriotism will not flourish if patriotic ceremonies are voluntary and spontaneous instead of a compulsory routine is to make an unflattering estimate of the appeal of our institutions to free minds.” (West Virginia Bd. Of Ed. v. Barnette 642). What makes this issue interesting is that for those who find the pledge of allegiance to be a normal occurrence may look at this case as an annoyance or unnecessary issue. The constitution is clear on giving every citizen the liberty to express themselves religiously, but that also means that for the small minority who do not believe in God, also have the right to speak up for themselves. The problem then lies in society when the majority tends to view the minority as a troublemaker for creating an issue in what we find to be so normal in our everyday lives.