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Kaitlyn Tull
Ms. Oberg
A4
29 January 2015
The Use of under God in the Pledge of Allegiance
The original Pledge of Allegiance was written in 1892 by Francis Bellamy with the intent
of celebrating the quadricentennial celebration for Columbus Day (Baer). In his original
Pledge, there is no mention of God or anything having to do with religion. The words under God
were added in 1954 after a campaign by the Knights of Columbus (Baer). According to Francis
Bellamy, the true reason for allegiance to the Flag is the republic for which it stands. It is the
concise political word for the Nation (Baer). Bellamys original intent for the Pledge was to
celebrate the 400th anniversary of Columbuss voyage, not to associate religion with our Nation.
Some people may think the words under God make the pledge religious; I however do not. I
believe including the words under God do not make the Pledge religious; I believe the Pledge
is primarily representing the Nation; not religion.
Since the words under God were added in 1954 by the Knights of Columbus; there
have been many arguments about whether endorsing government sponsorship of recitals of the
Pledge by children in public schools violates the First Amendment (One Nation Under God? A
Constitutional Question). The First Amendment clearly states Congress shall make no law
respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;
(usconstitution.net). The children that choose to recite the Pledge are doing so out of their own
free will. In the classrooms, the Pledges are led by the teacher or another student; when I was
young I could not help but notice when a student lead the Pledge, all the students participated.
Young children are still very perceptible to their surroundings, they do not want to cause a reason

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for them to be singled out; so they recite the Pledge.

In its entirety, the Pledge stands for preserving our nation and being proud of being an
American citizen. Including the words under God in the Pledge, according to an atheist
couple in Massachusetts that brought a suit against the Acton-Boxborough Regional School
District- defines patriotism according to a particular religious belief (Nielson). The words
under God do in fact correlate with religious belief, Christianity is by far the largest religion
in the United States; more than three-quarters of Americans identify as Christians
(washingtonpost.com). To me, under God means living in America knowing who we are, being
sure of ourselves and not hesitating for a moment on a decision we know is morally right. The
words under God are not necessarily about religion.
In trying to see how the words under God in a different perspective, I have come to the
conclusion it does violate the First Amendment. Kids who do not participate in the Pledge are
ostracized and feel excluded (Volokh) when everybody else is reciting the Pledge. The fact that
they are given the option to sit out or participate in the pledge, and they choose to sit out and be
ridiculed; to me that truly signifies what it means to be an American citizen. Enduring torment
and staying strong teaches us to remain positive in the face of adversity, i.e. sitting out the
Pledge. Those who choose to abstain from reciting the Pledge are considered unpatriotic, and
ridiculed for their beliefs. Many people choose to sit out due to not believing the phrase under
God is constitutional, not because they do not have faith in their country.
In conclusion, the phrase under God does not violate the First Amendment, the
choice of whether to abstain or participate in the Pledge is an act of free will; not force. While
the words under God can be linked to religion, they are not specifically religious in context.
They could mean a number of things, and to me they mean being an American citizen and

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believing moral choices have rule over material desires. In looking at this argument from a
different perspective I have found that children who do choose to sit out the Pledge are indeed
ridiculed for doing so, but they endure it to stand up for their beliefs. In doing so they are truly
living the one Nation part of the Pledge to its fullest.

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Works Cited
Baer, John. The Pledge of Allegiance, A Revised History and Analysis, 2007. Annapolis,
Md. Free State Press, Inc,. 2007
One Nation Under God? A Constitutional Question []
Mount, Steve. "Constitutional Topic: The Census." USConstitution.net. 3 Jan. 2011. 27
Feb. 2011.
Nielson, Erik, Stand up for Liberty by Sitting Out the Pledge of Allegiance. April 2013
The Washington Post []
Volokh, Eugene. Under God in Pledge of Allegiance is constitutional, says
Massachusettss highest court 2014. May 9, 2014

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