The Pledge of Allegiance was first written in 1892 and originally read: “I Pledge Allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands; one nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” President Eisenhower and Congress added the “under God” phrase to the pledge in 1954.
The Constitution protects minority rights against the majority will, and the phrase in question violates the Establishment Clause in the First Amendment. This phrase in the Pledge would give the assumption that America is a Christian nation. Our Founding Fathers intended to keep a strict separation between church and state.
The Framers’ idea to protect citizens from religious freedom was to keep the government out of that sensitive area. Pledging allegiance to America shouldn’t require a religious belief.
Atheists and non-theists can feel isolated, and the Pledge should be able to include believers and nonbelievers alike. For a saying that is supposed to unify the nation as one, it sure seems to divide America into two groups of people.
In 1956 Congress changed the United States’ unofficial Latin motto from “E Pluribus Unum,” to “In God We Trust.” This endorsement of a deity violates the Constitution. The Federal currency we use everyday has a clear backing of a God.
Many secularists oppose this motto and even take the liberty to stamp over this message on paper currency. I do not have a problem with religion, but I do think that it should be kept out of government institutions.
It may not seem like a big deal to most people, but the separation of church and state needs to be reformed, because there is too much religion in government affairs.
–By Tyler White