What does "Under God" mean to you in American governement?

Question

Is it a granting of power to religious organizations or is granting power to the individual? How are politicians using this?

Answer 1

I agree with the lower court--"the phrase under God constitutes government endorsement of religion and therefore violates the first amendment."
The rest is but details.

"The Pledge of Allegiance received official recognition by Congress in an Act approved on June 22, 1942. However, the pledge was first published in 1892 in the Youth's Companion Magazine in Boston, Massachusetts to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the discovery of America.
In its original version, the pledge read "my flag" instead of "the flag of the United States." The change in the wording was adopted in 1923. The phrase "under God" was added to the pledge by a Congressional act approved on June 14, 1954.'
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."

June 26, 2002: A three-judge panel of the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rules 2-1 that the phrase "under God" constitutes government endorsement of religion and therefore violates the first amendment. Students have a right not only not to say the pledge but also not to hear the words "under God" in the pledge being said by other students, the court said.
U.S. GOVERNMENT INVOLVEMENT IN THE CASE
• The U.S. Senate passed a resolution 99-0 the day of the June 26, 2002 ruling, supporting the use of "under God" in the pledge and asking the appeals court to overturn the ruling.
• The U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution 416-3 on June 27, 2002, opposing the ruling.
• On Nov. 13, 2002, President Bush signed into law a bill that reaffirmed keeping "under God" in the pledge and "In God We Trust" as the national motto. Read an Associated Press story posted on Beliefnet.com.

Answer 2

"Under God" was added to the pledge of allegiance in 1954
by the congress, and signed into law by Ike to advance "the dedication of our Nation and our people to the Almighty." (DDE)
This was a considered a direct challenge to the rise of Communism (the congress believing that all communists are atheists).
In 1955 the congress added "In God We Trust" to all monies printed and coined, before that it only appeared on coins.
The pledge of allegiance wasn't fully adopted by the Federal government until 1942 although it was written in 1892. It is a part of U.S. Flag Code.
I believe that in the world that the framers of the constitution lived, some would have had a problem with it, but most would not.
Many of the framers were not members of organized churches, , Benjamin Franklin, Ethan Allen and Thomas Paine were Deists, believing in God and reason, and rejecting the supernatural.
After all that, what does "Under God" mean to me, I take the Confucian approach, "serve the living first" God can take care of Himself.

Answer 3

Under God...as in the Pledge of Allegience? Well, that wasn't written by our forefathers, but in the late 1800's. The Pledge of Allegiance was written for the popular children's magazine Youth's Companion by socialist author and Baptist minister Francis Bellamy on September 7, 1892. Just so you know. And yes, religious people use that as a mandate to intertwine their doctrines in the U.S. laws.

Politicians use religion to get votes, it saddens me that faith can be "used" in such a manner.

I feel in order to maintain the purity and integrity of religion AND our government, we must not interwine the two.

Answer 4

To me it means nothing. I see it as a remnant of a paranoid McCarthy era government hell-bent on showing the American public that they're better than those "Godless Communists."

It isn't granting or implying power to anyone. Politicians, to my knowledge, aren't using it in any meaningful way other than to possibly persuade the easily lead religionists that they should be elected to preserve "God's" country.

Answer 5

Just a tid-bit to supplement the answers:

Americans use to salute the flag during the pledge of allegiance but stopped doing so because of Nazi Germany and the USA is one of very few nations that have or had a pledge allegiance (ie. Nazi Germany, Russia I believe and China also if I'm not mistaken).

Answer 6

A great way to mix politics and faith,Causing more unfairness and scrutiny by the year knowing the increasing amounts of Atheists in the country!That stupid slogan wasnt even the original slogan to begin with.

To me it seems more like 'Under the Repulican Party'.

Answer 7

I would like to think "Under God" stands for YOUR own personal "God" of choice--be it Allah, Buddah, Big Bird or.....just God Himself. If you look at "Under God" as that, then it's purely a freedom to worship your own "God" as you see fit and comfortable to do.

I think the overheated and OVER-RATED debates of the use of the word "God" has uncovered our purest ignorance....when a step back to view a different perspective on the issue was all that was needed.

But what about Atheists? Well....what about them? Atheists have the pure right to remain silent when the words "under God" are spoken in the Pledge of Allegence or when the word "God" is about to be stated in a patriotic song. They won't go to Atheist Hell (a non-smoking place) if they accidentally mutter "God", most assuredly.

Answer 8

Its a noise word to make religious people happy.

It has no legal meaning and is wholly unenforcible.

As far as that goes, the religious would have every
right to say that is entirely redundant - from their point
of view, EVERYTHING we do is under God.

Answer 9

Dubya said, "I trust God speaks through me. Without that, I couldn't do my job."
--George w. Bush

07/09/2004
to a group of Amish he met with privately

It must also mean 'under George' as well

Answer 10

The American government was founded on Atheism.

Keep it that way, Christian scum.