Pledge Talking Points

Points you may wish to use when discussing the Pledge of Allegiance ruling:

"One nation under God" is an unconstitutional endorsement of religion. The First Amendment does not require hostility toward religion, but mandates government neutrality toward religion.

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal's ruling that declared the inclusion of "under God" in the Pledge unconstitutional, will prevent students from feeling coerced to give false statements of sectarian belief in public school. While the US Supreme Court has ruled in the past that it is not a requirement of public school students to recite the Pledge of Allegiance, students without sectarian faith were placed in the intimidating position of either refusing in front of their peers to recite the Pledge or being forced to pledge to something they do not believe.

The ruling declares that the use of “under God” in the Pledge is an endorsement of monotheism. This acknowledges that nearly 30 million Americans identify with no religion, and that there are many Buddhists, Hindus, and others who do not subscribe to monotheism.

With this decision by the court, there is now a hope that the Pledge of Allegiance can be returned to its original and intended form, without the "under God" wording that the Knights of Columbus lobbied successfully for in 1954.

Those opposed to the ruling forget our country’s rich and honorable history of protecting the rights and interests of minorities. The very fabric of our secular government was woven with this in mind. In 1960, four years before the 88th Congress passed sweeping civil rights legislation, there were 18.4 million African Americans in the United States. Recent polls (American Religious Identification Survey 2001) show that there are 28.1 million Americans whom an official endorsement of monotheism does not apply to. Just as the rights and interests of 18.4 million Americans were protected by the 88th Congress, so should this Congress respect the rights and interests of the 28.1 million Americans who do not profess to be monotheists. They, too, are honorable, patriotic Americans who deserve to be recognized and treated as such.

By stating “I believe that it points up the fact that we need common sense judges who understand that our rights were derived from God. Those are the kind of judges I intend to put on the bench,” President Bush is clearly establishing a religious litmus test for the judiciary. This directly contradicts Article VI of the Constitution, which states in part, “no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or Public Trust under the United States.”

It is not right for nearly 30 million American citizens who are not monotheists to be made to say the words “one nation under God” in order to feel like fully participating citizens in their communities. Americans come from all walks of life and backgrounds. What unites us should be a civic bond, not a religious belief.

The First Amendment to the Constitution states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” This means that the government allows people to freely exercise their beliefs if they so choose. However, it also means that the government cannot endorse one religion over another religion, nor can it endorse religion in general over non-religion. The Pledge violates this standard, by declaring “one nation under God.”

Although no one is required to recite the pledge, there is no alternative wording for patriotic Americans who want to express allegiance to their country, without involving a deity.

Having "under God" and "indivisible" in the same oath is contradictory. Rather than uniting the people, the Pledge discriminates between religious Americans and the non-religious. The "under God" portion of the current pledge implies second-class citizenship (or less) toward U.S. citizens holding a particular outlook on religion. Former President George Bush, Sr. has said that he does not "know that atheists should be considered citizens, nor should they be considered patriots. This is one nation under God."

For the original Pledge, please see The Bank of Wisdom website