Atheists Lose Another ‘God’ in Pledge Battle

7 CommentsAtheist Tuesday

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit upheld the constitutionality of the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance in New Hampshire‘s public schools.

The decision on Friday by the three-judge panel dealt another blow to atheists who have made several attempts to strike down the pledge and the inclusion of the words “under God” as unconstitutional. Read the rest here.

Comments (7)

  1. Garrett

    Reply

    We don’t want to strike down the pledge: we just want the pledge to be neutral. Key word: neutral. We’re not trying to replace “under God” with “under no gods.”

    I think that’s perfectly reasonable.

  2. perdita

    Reply

    From the article:

    “It takes more than the presence of words with religious content to have the effect of advancing religion, let alone to do so as a primary effect,” the judge wrote. “The Pledge and the phrase ‘under God’ are not themselves prayers, nor are they readings from or recitations of a sacred text of a religion.

    “Here, the words ‘under God’ appear in a pledge to a flag – itself a secular exercise, accompanied by no other religious language or symbolism.”

    Do you think this is better? Isn’t the judge saying the phrase ‘under God’ is essentially meaningless?

  3. vintango2k

    Reply

    Why do people care about the Pledge of Alliegance anyways? It was made in the late 19th century, and ‘Under God’ was instituted during the mid 20th century. I find the idea of a pledge of loyalty in a ‘free country’ a little out of place, especially if its mandatory. It belongs in countries like North Korea or Iran, or Mayanmar perhaps.

    @Perdita – When do we get our T-shirts? I’m thinking the front needs to say ‘Next Stop: Lake of Fire.’

  5. Garrett

    Reply

    Personally, I think it’s a minor issue, but I would like to see any reference to gods remove from the government. The government should be taking a neutral stance and not stamping god into all our coinage and whatnot.

  6. perdita

    Reply

    “It doesn’t really matter what the judge thinks now, does it?”

    Then why a post?

    “@Perdita – When do we get our T-shirts? I’m thinking the front needs to say ‘Next Stop: Lake of Fire.’”

    – love it

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *