Should the words "under god" ramain in the pledge of allegiance?

Question

I think it should ramain in the pledge

Remain*************************************************************************************Sorry!!

And sombody please give me a thumbs up!

Answer 1

YES!!!!

Why change the words for the minority who don't believe in God?

Answer 2

No, it shouldn't. It wasn't there when the Pledge was originally written in 1892 and was indeed added in 1954 during the height of the McCarthyism era during the Cold War, when people needed to differentiate between the so-called God-fearing America and the supposedly atheistic Communist nations.

http://www.freedomforum.org/templates/document.asp?documentID=16480

As you can see, it was illegally added in '54, and remains illegal now and should be removed. After all, you wouldn't want it to be there if it was "under Buddha" instead, so why would anyone who's not Christian want to have to say "under God" to pledge themselves to America?

Oh, and before you start, America is NOT a Christian nation. Our forefathers might've been varying denominations of Christian, but they didn't found America as a Christian nation. It's a free nation. If they wanted a Christian nation, they could've stayed right where they were in England an other places where there were Christian theocracies.

Since they didn't and established a free, democratic nation "by the people, for the people" which means non-Christians and non-believers included, America's clearly NOT a Christian nation, so don't even bother with that arguement.

Answer 3

Wow not only does it seem like science is not being taught in schools today but neither is history. Only a few here have known how the pledge actually originated.

It was not written by our forefathers. It is only a little over 100 years old itself and the Under God phrase wasn't added until the 1950's during the big communist scare.

If you want it to be traditional then take the phrase out and let it be like the author (who was a minister by the way) wanted it. If you want it left in then at least know the correct history of it.

Answer 4

Wow. Just wow. Five or six people who said no were voted below the default threshold for displaying posts. Incredible. Astonishing. How representative of this country.

Removing the words "under god" from the pledge would NOT be a revision, it would be a reversion.


Francis Bellamy, a Baptist minister, originally wrote:

"I pledge allegiance to my Flag and (to*) the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.'

He wanted to add equality, but left it out because the state superintendents of education were against equality for women and African Americans.

Bellamy's granddaughter said he also would have resented this second change. He had been pressured into leaving his church in 1891 because of his socialist sermons. In his retirement in Florida, he stopped attending church because he disliked the racial bigotry he found there.

-http://history.vineyard.net/pledge.htm

If we cared about following the Constitution, we would remove those words.
But I suppose we should just become a dictatorship, because:

"If this were a dictatorship, it'd be a heck of a lot easier, just so long as I'm the dictator." -George W Bush

Answer 5

Yes, not just because I'm Catholic but because while it was originally written to purely allow religious freedom. God is just what was translated into English by the Jewish, Greek, Muslim, and many other languages and religions. I say it should stay because if you don't remember, one of the main reasons the U.S. was founded was for Religious Freedom. This also implies, if you must, different religious groups could Freely interpret God in their own ways, yes including atheists, being as they either believe science is their God or if they believe that man is completely independent of any celestial being. This proves that "under God" is Constitutional just the way our founding fathers wanted it to be. I strongly suggest listening to "Under the Same Sun" by the Scorpions. The End.

Answer 6

No. Any statement (such as the pledge) which is endorsed by the gov't, has absolutely no business mentioning a deity.

It is completely contradictory to claim, "one nation under (G)god with liberty and justice for all". By mentioning god in the pledge, there is no liberty for all...

By nature of the Bill of Rights, we are afforded certain rights, one of which is the freedom of religion. By mentioning God (and for the record, claiming God is a generic term for a higher power is insulting to one's intelligence) the federal gov't is showing favoritism to a particular faith. If they're willing to make that statement representative to ALL faiths and systems of beliefs, then they can continue on with it. However, they can't and therefore should mention none. No religious creed should be given favoritism or rights in any place that is funded by tax dollars, period. Sadly, the federal gov't doesn't see it that way, and continues to allow the religious right to hold power over the federal sex education (abstinence only guidelines), as well as refusing to allow a fallen soldiers widow to put a symbol of his faith on his headstone, simply because it isn't one of the big 3 (she wants a pentacle on his stone, but can only choose from xtian, jewish, muslim, or no symbology).

There's other factors here as well. First of all, that phrase was only included as a shot to those "godless communists". Since the cold war is over, the "need" for those words to remain is gone. Secondly, in a democracy, the majority rule must maintain the rights of the minority. Whether or not the majority wants those words to remain, if anyone (and I do mean anyone) feels their faith is slighted, or they are offended by them...well then they must be removed. Third, the misconception that this is a xtian nation must be dispelled. At best the framers of the constitution were deist, and because of the nature of the topic of religion, felt that it must remain a personal thing, not gov't mandated. From a lot of the responses posted here, it seems that the religious right only supports freedom of speech and religion when those things agree with them. Otherwise they cry about persecution.


BTW...I'd give you a thumbs up if I agreed with you.

Answer 7

Most people have a completely erroneous idea of the history of the Pledge of Allegiance. First of all, it was not written by the 'founding fathers'. In fact, none of them lived long enough to even hear it recited.

The first version of the pledge was written in 1892 by a socialist. It was the following: "I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

That's right, folks. Not only was the Pledge of Allegiance written by a socialist instead of the founding fathers, it ORIGINALLY contained absolutely no reference to God whatsoever. It didn't even contain words like equality, because many people after the Civil War were still touchy about the idea that people of all races might be considered equal.

The words 'under God' were added originally by the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic organization. Since in 1940 the supreme court ruled that all children could be FORCED in schools to recite the pledge, these religious folks were anxious that children understand that no matter how cool America was, it was still much less than God. Many other ministers greased the political wheels, and it became officially changed by congress in 1954.

Objections from people of other religions ever since haven't gained much ground, especially since the 1940 ruling specifically considered the objections of Jehovah's Witnesses and others to precieved idolatry and discarded the notion that religious objections were valid at that time.

So, so answer your question, do I think 'under god' should stay in the Pledge? No.

If we want to be traditional, we should go to the ORIGINAL words. Which contain no such reference. If we want to be respectful of the many religions and non-religions, we should delete the reference. In fact, I can't think of a single good reason to keep it, other than out of sheer inertia. Can you?

Answer 8

No it shouldn't...........
Why are people pledging allegiance to a flag.
Do not worship dumb idols, let alone swear allegiance to them.
I am the jealous god, the sovereign lord.
Worship no other gods before me.
Listen to what God is saying about idols.
Do not stand before them and recite your oath of allegiance to them every day. Its madness.
Pledge allegiance to the heavenly father and his son lord Jesus Christ.

Answer 9

absolutly not.

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." -First Amendment

putting "under god" in the pledge of allegence, or american dollars is CLEARLY favoring a religion. and you cant get away with "oh but it might also mean another religions 'god'...not just the christian god" cuz not everyone believes in 1 god or a god at all.

Answer 10

"Under God" was NOT originally in the Pledge of Allegiance and was not added until 1954, and has been controversial ever since.

I don't have a problem with it being there for those who wish to say it. I do believe that those who believe that "under God" goes against their beliefs or faith should be allowed to omit it without being judged, criticised or ridiculed.

Answer 11

Yes, changing the Pledge of Allegiance would seriously be nitpicking