In God We Trust: The Pledge Of Allegiance

To Be A Nation Under God Or Not Americans have had a long history with religion. From the pilgrims fled England to seek religious freedom from the Church of England to the phrase “In God We Trust” on our currency. America’s origin was centered around what some believe the creator of everything. Hundreds of years later, America has been considered a nation under God, such as it is stated in the Pledge of Allegiance. The Pledge of Allegiance is a patriotic vow often recited at government ceremonies and at public schools. The Pledge of Allegiance contains two words that touch nerves with some American citizens, “under God”. Some individuals firmly believe that the two words in the pledge should be removed as it discriminates and offends people,

The Founding Fathers of America wanted to separate government and religion. The courts of America seem to favor keeping the phrase in the pledge. The courts look at the historical significance of the phrase. “‘History, however, show these words have an even broader meaning, one grounded in philosophy and politics and reflecting many events of historical significance.’” (Farrell 1) The phrase reflects “historical significance” of the nation. In history and even today, God has been referenced, as for example, the “in God we trust” on America’s money. The phrase was not added until the 1950s. “...in 1954 in an attempt to distinguish the United States from the Soviet Union, whose Communist leaders suppressed religion.” (Zissou 2) The reason it was added is because during the time the Cold War was going on and the Pledge of Allegiance could have been consider like the European bloc. In order to prevent the similarities, the phrase was added to acknowledge that there was something more powerful. The a number of courts do not think the phrase relates to religion but rather an oath of loyalty. “...Supreme Court recently ruled that the Pledge is ‘a fundamentally patriotic exercise, not a religious one.’” (Zissou