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The words "under God" belong in the Pledge of Allegiance because: 1) Congress passed a law in the 1950's adding them, and 2) the overwhelming majority of Americans want them there. Their benign, generic presence does not violate the "separation between church and state," nor do they "establish a state religion." Grumpy atheists are just going to have to suck this one up and continue with their petulant black marker defacing of our currency by blacking out "In God We Trust."

By way of background, the Pledge of Allegiance was the brainchild of a Baptist minister, Francis Bellamy (1855-1931), who wrote the first rendition of the pledge in 1892. In 1954, Congress added the words "under God" to the pledge.(1) So, what we have here is an actual Act of Congress that at the time, at least, was overwhelmingly supported by the American public.

Does the argument that including God's name in a public pledge violates the First Amendment hold true? The First Amendment as regards religion reads: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof" What "religion" does "under God" establish? There might be an argument that "under God" provides at least tacit support to the concept of monotheism (the belief in a single God), or even offends the sensibilities of atheists, which serves them right, because they offend the heck out of the rest of us.

As to religions that adhere to the belief in more than one God, I would respectfully suggest that if they are Americans and are saying the Pledge, they might feel more comfortable with saying "under (insert number) Gods." To the atheists, I can only respond, what's the big deal? You don't believe in the idea of a supernatural power. It is a negative concept to you, so why make such a big deal out of what you believe is "nothing"?

I do not suspect that we shall be hearing much from the Hindus or Buddhists on this issue, but the atheists have already taken the rest of us to court. The most famous case was an atheist, Michael Newdow. Here's what Wikipedia says about Mr. Newdow:

"Newdow is most famous for a lawsuit filed on behalf of his daughter against inclusion of the words "under God" in public schools' recitals of the United States Pledge of Allegiance. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that the phrase constitutes an endorsement of religion, and therefore violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. However, the decision was

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