Pledge of Allegiance and separation of church and state?

Question

What in the world does the separation of church and state have ANYTHING to do with the pledge having "one nation under God"?

The Church doesn't have any say in legal or government matters anymore. Nor is the government putting in law that you must be in such and such religon.

Wikipedia says it best:
"Separation of church and state is a political and legal doctrine which states that government and religious institutions are to be kept separate and independent of one another."

"The phrase is never stated in the constitution. The first amendment states that government will not create a national religion however government officials have the right to practice any religious ideas that they want."

Why are adults and teenagers so misinformed?

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,298336,00.html

These High Schoolers are walking out because they have to say "under God", saying it's unconstitutional.

Where and how is it unconstitutional?

Answer 1

Their parents ought to spank those high schoolers, then go after those who instigate it.

Answer 2

The original concept was separation of church and state to ensure that the state didn't establish any one religion as opposed to others with one piece of legislation or another.
We keep thinking in terms of those who do not wish to say under God and not in terms of those who do wish to make that pledge. Preventing students from saying a prayer before a sports event - as was done in one state not long ago when the majority of the town and school wished to do just that - or to force them to say under God in an oath of allegiance are equal distortions of the intent of our constitution and the intent of its authors. if they had meant to ban religion from schools, they would have closed the many different religious schools in existence at the time those words were first proposed for our country. The answer, I think, is a national voucher system to give parents the money needed for a school of their choice so that those who wish a religious setting for their school and those who do not can afford to support a school with a doctrine which they approve of. Of course, you will always see teacher's unions oppose this because with a voucher system parents would be able to demand the removal from their schools of unqualified or abusive teachers regardless of union or not and those unions would lose the power they have now to protect the jobs of those teachers who should be fired, as in one case I saw some time ago where a teacher was somewhat physically violent to a student but could not be fired because she had gained "tenure"
In that case, incidentally, the school board decided that no teacher from that day forward would ever be given tenure so that they could fire any teacher they had reason to fire, which punished ever good teacher there for the one that the union should never have fought for.

Answer 3

You're right, it isn't in the Constitution, although there is a passage about no religious test shall be required for public office. However, Thomas Jefferson made clear his intent in a letter to a friend.

I might point out that the original Pledge, as written by Francis Bellamy (a Baptist minister) in 1892, read as follows: "I pledge allegiance to my flag, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." "My flag" was changed to "the flag of the United States of America" in 1921, much to Bellamy's displeasure. It was added to ensure those who recited the pledge were not pledging allegiance to any other country. "Under God" was added in 1954 at the behest of the Knights of Columbus and also because it was at the height of the "Red Scare."

Bellamy, by the way, was a Christian socialist.

Answer 4

Free to do what they want maybe. It says no national religion then tells people to say One Nation under God but God was never elected and cannot as God does not exist but if God did exist God would have to be elected as God does not this is saying you have to pledge alliegence to an imaginary Dictator who supposedly gave approvel to The Church to help destroy the culture of the nations upon which The U.S.A. now stands.

Answer 5

The Seperation of church and state was supposed to protect the church form government not government from religion.

This was clearly stated by Thomas Jefferson when he coined the term in a letter to his minister friend who was telling Jefferson that their should be a national religion.

Jefferson felt there was a place for God in government, but no place for government in Religion. The separation was to assure that the government never dictated to the church how and when and where to worship GOD.

Answer 6

89% of the individuals in this u . s . have confidence that God exists. they do no longer have confidence that Allah is God, for this reason, to apply below Allah could be an affront to what maximum of our inhabitants believes. As to separation of church and state, the form for sure states that the government isn't allowed to regulate or in any different case restrict the prepare of any faith. that would comprise how one desires to declare the pledge of allegiance. If Muslims desire to declare...below Allah, it particularly is their properly suited to accomplish that. That properly suited is secure below our shape besides. notwithstanding, to anticipate 89% of human beings to alter what they do for an insignificant tiny proportion of Muslims is ridiculous to declare the least. Our government has, over the years, reinterpreted that factor of the form to recommend that the church can no longer effect society or government...and as a church as an entire, i might agree. notwithstanding, the alternative to apply those words became made by ability of the individuals, no longer by ability of the government.