Correction Of My Judgment About The Pledge of Allegiance

Earlier I addressed the United States Pledge of Allegiance and a federal court case that determined whether it was Constitutional. In my blog I mistakenly agreed with the ideal that the phrase “under God” in the pledge was oppressive to those whom did not believe in God. I am hereby retracting that statement.

For reference purposes I cite the pledge below while I explain the rational that has caused me to change my mind.

I pledge Allegiance to the flag
of the United States of America
and to the Republic for which it stands,
one nation under God, indivisible,
with Liberty and Justice for all.

First of all the statement “one nation under God” is legally true as you can judge by yourself by reading the end of the Constitution where the signers claim Jesus as their Lord and thus make him Lord of the Constitution and therefore the Nation. Second the point at which my error took effect is that contrary to the claims of the plaintiff in the case the statement “one nation under God” is not an expression of belief in God by the individual making the pledge but merely a description of the United States.

So in conclusion to require students to say the pledge including the phrase “one nation under God” is no more and probably less of a restriction on freedom of religion than requiring them to describe a Sunni as a Muslim or a Catholic as a Christian.