Voth 1

Nate Voth
English 11
Laurie Oberg
10, March, 2016
Keeping Under God in the Pledge Final Draft
The pledge of allegiance has been spoken by Americans for many years as a way to show
their patriotism and allegiance to the United States. The words under god have been a part of
the pledge for over sixty years and are recited by millions of school children every day. However,
there is much debate of whether or not under god should be taken out of the pledge. There are
several reasons why it should stay in the pledge. Leaving Under God in the pledge does not
violate anyones first amendment rights and it is not in violation of the Establishment clause.
Even though the pledge contains the words Under God and it is required that it be
recited in school in most states it still is not an example of state sponsored religion (procon.org).
It doesnt violate the Establishment clause because a student can still not recite it if they choose
to (Greenberg, 3). Also while Under God may have religious significance it doesnt turn the
pledge into a prayer. This means that having the pledge can still be recited in schools while
keeping church and state separate.
Some may argue that requiring schools to have the pledge be spoken in schools is a
violation of the First Amendment and the Establishment clause. Their claim is that students are
coerced to say the pledge in school and thus their first amendment rights are violated. Also they
argue that the words Under God push the idea of deism on the children that recite it. They

Voth 2

point out that in 2002 the 9 th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the words Under God
were unconstitutional (Chea, 1). Another common case regarding the constitutionality of the
pledge is the case of Michael Newdow. Newdow claimed Under God should be taken out of
the pledge on account of his daughter being coerced into saying it at school. Many opponents of
the pledge point our that the 9th Circuit ruled in Newdows favor (One Nation Under God? A
Constitutional Question, 3). However, in 2004 the Supreme Court ruled in opposition of
Newdow and the 9th Circuit (Chea, 1). In addition the U.S. Senate passed a resolution expressing
support for the pledge voting 99-0 in response to the 9 th Circuits ruling. Also students are not
truly coerced into saying the pledge because if they choose not to say they con not be punished in
any way.
Another reason Under God does not violate the Establishment clause is because it is
not an expression of ceremonial deism. In order for a government-sponsored message to be in
violation of the Establishment clause it has to meet certain criteria. Supreme Court Justice
Sandra Day OConnor decided that there are four criteria for a message being ceremonial deism
during the 2004 Newdow case ("On Ceremonial Occasions, May the Government Invoke
Deity?", 3). First is that there must be widespread practice of reciting the message. Second is
whether or not the message is an expression of worship. Third is if the message favors a certain
religion. The fourth is whether or not the religious reference is a minor part of the entire
message. When it comes to the first criterion the message is indeed widely recited throughout the
country in schools. However, it does not meet the second because reciting the pledge is not an
expression of worship. The intended purpose of the pledge is to express patriotism. As for the
third it could be argued that it favors Christianity, however, there are other religions such as

Voth 3

Judaism that also worship God. Lastly Under God is only one phrase in a pledge that is mostly
oriented around the United States so it fails to meet the fourth criterion as well.
The words Under God may in fact have religious background and significance.
However, this should not lead anyone to think that the Pledge of Allegiance itself is a religious
message, because it is not religiously oriented. Also due to the fact that students are not required
to say the pledge it does not violate the Establish clause or the First amendment in any way.
Works Cited
Chea, Terence. "'Under God' In Pledge of Allegiance Upheld By Court." Huffington Post. 11
Mar. 2010. Web. 8 Feb. 2016.
Greenberg, David. "The Pledge of Allegiance." Slate. 28 June 2002. Web. 8 Feb. 2016.
"On Ceremonial Occasions, May the Government Invoke Deity?" The Pew Forum. 28 Aug.
2008. Web. 10 Mar. 2016.
One Nation Under God? A Constitutional Question. The Pew Forum on Religion & Public
Life. Web. 8 Feb. 2016.