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Kolby Smith
Ms. E. Parrish
English 1010
04 January, 2017
God Or No God
The pledge of allegiance is performed daily in schools, it was published in
Children's Magazine September 1892 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of
Christopher Columbus voyage to America, but Under God was not apart of the
original allegiance. Under God was soon added to the Pledge in 1954, during the Cold
War. Many members of Congress reportedly wanted to emphasize the distinctions
between the United States and the officially atheistic Soviet Union.(Lipka 1)
We do not need to change Under God from our pledge of allegiance because it
does not have a specific God that forces a person to believe in, that quote unites the
United States of America and it also is on our currency.
Some believe we should not have Under God included in the Pledge of
Allegiance because of religious segregation; not everybody believes in God. According
to the United States Census Bureau, 85% of the populations are religious and believe
in a God, and only 15% do not believe in religion or a God.(Census 1)
There are those who say the Pledge of Allegiance within its own words endorses
religion. In the words of Michael A. Newdow, plaintiff-appellant, The Pledge, as
currently codified, is an impermissible government endorsement of religion because it

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sends a message to unbelievers that they are outsiders(Newdow 9). This is

inaccurate because as a nation we do not say Under God as a religious aspect to
ostracize people, but rather to unite The United States of America as a nation, taking a
stand against communism during the Cold War.
There are those who say that the Pledge of Allegiance violates the First
Amendment's establishment clause that protects any religion to become established
within the government. John E. Thompson, JD, Associate at Shearman & Sterling, has
stated, there is in the Establishment Clause a clear textual basis for a right of atheists
and nontheists to be free from government endorsement and coercion.(Thompson 1).
In America, people are given the choice to recite the Pledge. They are not forced to
recite the pledge if they choose not to, but they are expected to be respectful during that
time to those who do.
The reference to God is deeply rooted in American history. CNN reported in an
article on their website,
The motto was first placed on coins by the U.S. Treasury in
1864, during the Civil War. In 1955, Congress passed a bill to have
the motto placed on paper currency, and it first appeared on bills
two years later. In 1956, Congress passed a resolution declaring 'In
God We Trust' the [motto].

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God, within history had been the reason the Pilgrims first sought freedom from the
monarchy of England. Under God and in God we trust is about history not religious
coercion.
The second president, in his very own words supported religion being within the
government. John Adams, the second president of the United States of America, when
he addressed the Massachusetts militia, he stated, "We have no government armed in
power capable of contending in human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Our
constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. Our times have changed
but that does not mean the view has changed. The constitution that the founding fathers
had written is still the constitution we use today.
God is a universal term used in many religions. Using information from the
American Religious Identification Survey conducted by The Graduate Center of The City
University of New York, there are three-hundred and ten religions and denominations
within the United States of America. The term God is used to acknowledge someone or
something that is of divine love, hope, power,and right. That being said, if someone
were to state under God with a religious perspective in mind, it is not one distinct
religious God, but can be any God respectively.
From our history books to the past presidential leader of America, even who we
claim God is. God is referenced throughout the birth of the States to what it is now, a
strong and great nation. The United States is one nation under God. It is stated on our

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memorials, currency, and our pledge of allegiance, therefore we should not take out or
change Under God from our pledge of allegiance.

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Works Cited

Jones, Jeffery. "The Man Who Wrote the Pledge of Allegiance." Smithsonian.com.
Smithsonian Institution, Nov. 2003. Web. 01 Jan. 2017.
Lipka, Michael. "Pledge of Allegiance." Pew Research Center. N.p., 04 Sept. 2013.
Web. 02 Jan. 2017.
"Pledge of Allegiance ." CNN. Cable News Network, 12 Apr. 2016. Web. 01 Jan. 2017.
PIO, Jason Gauthier History Staff. "Census Records - Religion - U.S. Census Bureau."
US Census Bureau, Census History Staff, PIO. N.p., 02 Apr. 2012. Web. 01 Jan.
2017.