by James Hughes

Created on: February 16, 2010

The decision made by Judge Goodwin of the 9th Circuit Court in 2002 to remove the words “Under God” from the Pledge of Allegiance is completely justified constitutionally. The First Amendment specifically prohibits congress from passing a law “respecting an establishment of religion.” While anyone can say anything they like during a pledge, including “under God,” it cannot rightly be officially endorsed by the state, as a document such as the “Pledge of Allegiance” is. The opposition even recognises this fact, as Sen. Joseph Lieberman demonstrated by stating that he and several others would propose a constitutional amendment to keep the Pledge the way that it is.

Some will argue that the word “god” in this usage is a generic term and can include any persons  various deity when spoken as part of the Pledge. This argument is wholly misguided , as many religions have no gods whatsoever, such as Buddhism. There are also religions which focus on a “goddess,” such as Wicca. Lastly, there are the 15% of Americans who profess no belief in any god at all. This is coupled with the fact that it was the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic organization, who campaigned for the addition of the the words in 1954, inevitable leads one to the conclusion that the words “under god” in pledge refer to a particular religions beliefs.  The fact is that even if the term was meant to be generic it is still unconstitutional. Judge Goodwin writes "A profession that we are a nation 'under God' is identical, for Establishment Clause purposes, to a profession that we are a nation 'under Jesus,' a nation 'under Vishnu,' a nation 'under Zeus,' or a nation 'under no god,' because none of these professions can be neutral with respect to religion."

The only reasonable decision to be made concerning the pledge is to return it to its pre-1954 version, which simply did not include the words “under God” but was otherwise the same version we use today. Not only is the post-1923/pre-1954 version of the Pledge constitutional (While the post-1954 version clearly is not.), it also includes all Americans, not just theists.

In a “Pledge of Allegiance” sponsored by the state, the fact that we are Americans weighs heavier that of religious preference. The supporters of the courts decision are true patriots, while is detractors seek to undermine the integrity of the very foundation of this best of all nations: the Constitution.

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