The Constitutionality of References to God
First Amendment. The Pledge of Allegiance May Endorse Religion
Jan 12, 2009
An ongoing issue for citizens of the United States of America is the constitutionality of references to God in many public ceremonies. Recently, a suit was filed to prevent Barack Obama from saying the words “so help me God” in his inaugural oath. Similar issues have been raised in regard to the Pledge of Allegiance, which also contains a reference to God. The reference to God was inserted by Congress in 1954.
A strictly logical argument concludes that the codified reference to God in the Pledge violates the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. The First Amendment states that Congress may not enact laws that endorse religion. The Pledge, as codified by Congress, takes a position on a purely religious issue – the existence and identity of God. Therefore, the Pledge of Allegiance violates the Constitution.
In reality, the issue is not as straightforward as is suggested in the logical argument. A series of court rulings regarding the constitutionality of the Pledge have addressed not only citizens’ First Amendment rights but also the Fourteenth Amendment rights of parents’ and students’ to determine whether their individual religious practice.
The History of Court Rulings Pertaining to the Constitutionality of the Pledge of Allegiance.
The Pledge of Allegiance was recognized in 1945 by Congress as the official national pledge. At that time, the pledge contained no reference to religion. However, in 1954, Congress passed the Oakman-Ferguson Resolution (1954), which codified addition of the words “under God”, immediately after the words “one nation,” based upon words from Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address.
In 2002, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in California ruled that the Pledge of Allegiance wording specified by the Oakman-Ferguson Resolution constituted a government endorsement of religion and was not neutral with respect to religion, as dictated by the First Amendment. In 2004, The U.S. Supreme Court overturned the ruling of the 9th Circuit Court ruling but did not address the constitutionality of the reference to God contained in the Pledge.
In 2004, Judge Lawrence Karlton (U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California) ruled “the pledge's reference to one nation "under God" violates school children's rights to be "free from a coercive requirement to affirm God." Later, in 2006, a ruling in a case before a federal district court in Florida case, Frazier v. Alexandre, found forced recitation of the pledge to be unconstitutional because the First and Fourteen Amendment rights of the students were violated.
The constitutionality of official references to God is a serious American citizenship issue. The resolution of this issue will have far-reaching effects on the personal rights of all Americans and the values that Americans hold dear. As written by Judge Alfred T. Goodwin in the majority opinion in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals case, “To recite the pledge is not to describe the United States; instead, it is to swear to the values for which the flag stands: unity, indivisibility, liberty, and justice…”
Constitution of the United States of America. Amendment 1 - Freedom of Religion, Press, Expression. Ratified 12/15/1791.
"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."
Pledge of Allegiance, as codified by Congress in the 1954.
“I pledge allegiance to my Flag and (to) the Republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”
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