Under God

The original Pledge of Allegiance did not contain the words “under God”. The words “under God” were added in the 1950’s. The addition of these words was unconstitutional then and they should be removed. The fact is we are not one nation under God. To claim in our Pledge that we all believe in one God is a lie. We are a nation of people that believes in one God, many gods, or no god at all. If we want our Pledge to reflect our true relationship with religion in this country, we should change the words “one nation under God” to “one nation with religious freedom”. This change would more accurately describe the current situation with regard to religion in the United States as well as supporting its foundation.

Contrary to popular opinion, this country was not founded on Christian principles and values. It was founded on the principle of religious freedom. It just so happened that those who were seeking this freedom were primarily Christian. It was of primary concern that no country should be able to tell its citizens religious views they should have. If we are going to have a Pledge, which involves religious aspects of our society, it should be both truthful and indicative of the rights described in the Constitution.