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Should the words of God be in the pledge
Remove god from pledge of allegiance
Why the words god should be taken out of the pledge
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Every American citizen must show loyalty to our nation, but do they have to show loyalty to “God”? When saying the pledge, one must elicit the words “one nation under God.” This not only contradicts freedom of religion, but it draws attention away from the purpose of pledging loyalty to America. It’s the Supreme Court’s responsibility to make sure there is an equal chance for fairness. Only the Supreme Court can override the decision to not remove “under God” from the pledge. The Supreme Court also controls the opportunity for this case to even appear before them in court. It’s their responsibility to see that the pledge is without alienation and controversy When a person becomes an American citizen they are required to take a test. They are required to know certain laws and U.S. customs. They must also say the pledge. This includes having to state the United States in under, not just any god, but god of the Christian faith. But many immigrants who come to this country are not even religious, let alone Christian. Atheism, agnosticism, and other religions make up nearly forty percent of the U.S. population (Bindley, "Religion Among Americans Hits Low Point, As More People Say They Have No Religious Affiliation: Report"). This means that when saying the pledge, nearly four out of ten American citizens state that they are under a God that isn’t of their belief system. In almost every American school, students are required to say the Pledge of Allegiance. By doing this, they are forced to utter the two words that confess the authority that an ultimate being has over the nation they live in. Children are being taught every day that America is a country centered on God and a Christian nation. By making them say the pledge, the questio... ... middle of paper ... ...ith liberty and justice for all.” Without God, the Pledge becomes less convoluted and more expressible. There will be less people who say it in vain, less controversy, and more admiration and devotion. Works Cited "Fight for the Pledge of Allegiance." Interview by Jim Lehrer. Www.PBS.org. PBS, 27 June 2002. Web. 26 Feb. 2014. "Opinion: Keeping "Under God" in the Pledge." Video. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Feb. 2014. Al-Khatib, Talal. "History of the Pledge of Allegiance." DNews. N.p., 11 Sept. 2013. Web. 26 Feb. 2014. Bindley, Katherine. "Religion Among Americans Hits Low Point, As More People Say They Have No Religious Affiliation: Report." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 13 Mar. 2013. Web. 26 Feb. 2014. Rosenbaum, David E. "With Little Ado, Congress Put God in Pledge in 1954." The New York Times. The New York Times, 27 June 2002. Web. 26 Feb. 2014.
This example of a Supreme Court case shows that the court is not above politics. Even though most Americans, including government officials, practiced some form of Christianity, the judges were not willing to compromise the information in the Constitution for the popular beliefs of individuals. I agree with the Supreme Court in its decision to ban the practice of prayer in public schools. Not only does it violate the Constitution, but it encroaches on our freedom of thought and action. Being excluded from a public classroom because of personal beliefs does not sound just.
The Supreme Court case in Elk Grove Unified School District v. Newdow result in a unanimous ruling that the phrase “under God” may remain in the Pledge of Allegiance as narrated in public school classrooms. The court made the decision because the atheist father did not have grounds to sue the school district on behalf of his daughter. While the ruling was made on the Flag Day, it did not meet the clear endorsement of the constitutionality of the pledge as sought by President Bush and leaders of Republican and Democratic Parties in Congress. Notably, the eight judges who participated in the case had voted to turn over a federal appeals court decision in 2003 that would have prohibited the use of the phrase in public schools as an infringement of the constitutional outlaw on state-sponsored religion. A majority of these justices i.e. five made that ruling on procedural grounds in which Michael A. Newdow, the atheist, did not have legal reasons to sue the school district (Lane, 2004).
In the 2008 the United States Census Bureau, Self-Described Religious Identification of Adult Population, The Christian faith proved to be the more dominating religion out of all religions. So it would seem the words “Under God” would be beneficial for the majority, the Pledge of Allegiance allures and supports the loyalty of the majority of citizens. The nonbelievers of religion have had the right to not recite the pledge since 1943 but have been asked to quietly stand while the believers recite the pledge in its entirety. Even though leaving out “Under God” is not a difficult task we can clearly see a division has now developed, opposite of bringing the people together. Another example that shows the pledge allures and supports a loyalty to the majority of citizens, the acceptance and encouragement to keep ...
Foner, Eric. Give me liberty!: an American history. Seagull 4th ed. New York: W. W. Norton & Co., 2014.
Gwen Wilde wrote an essay on “Why the Pledge of Allegiance Should be Revised.” In this essay, Gwen believes that the words “under God” should be removed from the Pledge of Allegiance. Gwen informs us that the original Pledge did not include “under God” and the words were not added until 1942, therefore, the words can easily be removed. Although some changes have been made to make it clear that the Pledge of Allegiance is for the United States Gwen believes that the words “under God” do not show any support for our country and only make those who do not believe in God feel uncomfortable. Therefore, Gwen believes that “under God” is not appropriate for the Pledge and does not show that we are a Nation that is “indivisible.”
The Pledge of Allegiance has become a major issue for students, teachers, parents and lawmakers. The original intention of the pledge was not to stir up trouble, but for a celebration of Christopher Columbus discovery of the new world. The pledge is no longer thought of as a celebration, but an infringement on children's religious beliefs. Do you believe that children's rights are being infringed on? Some people believe that the pledge is a great honor for our country. It has shown, and provided us with great pride just like our American flag. The Pledge of Allegiance being recited in the public school system does not infringe on the students religious beliefs, but is a way for us to honor our country and everything that we have done to get to this point in history.
According to Johnathonocross.com, “It is clearly designed to inspire feelings of devotion to a country that is “under God” (and by including this phrase, it also encourages religious belief). Children have little if any grasp on what their country does or intends to do both domestically and internationally.” If we can’t feel free of commitment while being Atheist or even Muslim, we won’t feel free to do anything out of what most Americans believe is being American.
Before analyzing the above described controversy, we must first examine the history of the Pledge itself. Written by Francis Bellamy, it was originally titled the “Pledge to the Flag” and was created in the late 1800’s to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the discovery of America. It originally read: “I pledge allegiance to my Flag and to the republic for which it stands, one Nation, indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for all” (McCarthy, 2005). Changes were later made to include the words “of the United States” and “of America” to indicate which flag was being referenced. The final changes to the Pledge came in 1954 when it officially became titled the “Pledge of Allegiance” and the words “under God” were added after “one nation.” This addition to the Pledge was meant to support the United States as a religious nation. While signing the law to put this change into effect, President Eisenhower said, “In this way we shall constantly strengthen those spiritual weapons which forever will be our country’s most powerful resource in peace and war” (McCarthy, 2005).
First, I would like to talk about the history of the Pledge of Allegiance. Many people today recite the Pledge of Allegiance but do not know the history that took place behind it. The Pledge of Allegiance was originally written more than a century ago. The original pledge was: I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic, for which it stands, one Nation, indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for all . The flag serves as a symbol of our country and its proud traditions of freedom and equal opportunity. In the 1920s, the National Flag Conferences replaced the phrase “my Flag” with “the Flag of the United States of America.” In 1954, Communist threats occurred causing Congress to add the words under God to the pledge. Then 12 years later, Congress reviewed the Pledge of Allegiance and added the words “Under God .” While reciting the Pledge of Allegiance it should be recited by standing placing your
On April 30, 1789, George Washington became the United Stated of America first president. When he took the oath he asked that the Bible be opened to Deuteronomy 28 and after the oath he added, “So help me God.” (1)This is only one example in my opinion of how I believe our nation was founded on Christian principles. The nation’s capital is filled with religious monuments and religious imagery yet, we as a nation look to these structures as a political homage.
December 15, 1791 the First Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified, guaranteeing that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech." At an absolute minimum, the Establishment Clause was intended to prohibit the federal government from declaring and financially supporting a national religion, such as existed in many other countries at the time of the nation's founding (University of Missouri-Kansas City, 2011). Prefacing the institution of the Establishment Clause, society was becoming increasingly concerned that the government was dictating to the people which type of religion they should favor. The tables turned back in forth either favoring Catholicism or Protestantism. Tax dollars were being used to support whatever was being called the state church. During the time that Pierce v. Society of Sisters was being heard, people were becoming increasingly tired of the punishment, imprisonment and increased taxation that was occurring for not conforming to the prevailing religion.
First off, our nation was found by Christians that embedded their beliefs into their work in founding this Christian nation. The founders added a system of checks and balances from the understanding “…if men were angels, no government would be necessary” (America is a Christian Nation). A majority of the founders were in fact, Christian. Over 80% of the founders held a belief in a denomination, or section under, the Christian Church. There are constitutional religious references such as “In God We Trust” and “…one nation, under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all.” and are considered constitutional because they were accepted by our founding fathers and written into the constitution. These are not even required to be respected but they come across as constitutional.
The argument over the separation of church and state has been an ongoing debate without a conclusion, and has always been a topic to speak on. Many people have strong opinions for or against the separation. While some believe that prayer in school is beneficial to the development of children and of their faith, others believe that it could completely criticize their faith by not giving the student the option to explore their beliefs. In the “Resistance to Civil Government” by Henry David Thoreau, the author is passionate about allowing people to beli...
The United States of America is a country that was formed on different beliefs. These beliefs are what make America the diverse country it is today. One of the biggest debates in this country is the division between church and state. The United States is one of the few countries that believe in a separation between church and state. I believe that the United States is a secular nation with religious influences. We are not fully on one side of the argument, fully secular or fully religious, but blended to compliment both sides.
Our founding fathers lay reference to a god in the papers that our government is ruled by. George Washington believed in order to bring people together there must be a religious bond for order and stability. They didn’t foresee the oppositions’ conclusion as to why there must be a role even for the one god in our constitution. Later radical thinking suggests that role is a way of subordinate control. A true leader of Church-State relation change arrived when James Madison had influential control. James Madison’s reforms to the constitution set the tone as to where we’re today. Article 6 of the constitution – “No religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States”. This was a huge triumph in order to protect every citizen’s rights. Yet, there’s a drawback to this, to this day this very article can be interpreted in many ways. Originally, Madison suggested the article to be written as, “No religion shall be established by law, nor shall the equal rights of conscience be