Trawally 1

Lasana Trawally
Oberg
English 11
1/15/15
One Nation under God?
When the pledge was written in 1892 by Francis Bellamy, it was written to celebrate
Columbus 400th anniversary, from 1892 to the 1950s. The pledge went through many changes,
the controversial words Under God was added in the 1950s by the Knights of Columbus to
separate the United States from atheistic Soviet Union. Not everyone believe in the same god and
some dont believe in god at all, but what does that have anything to do with pledge, the pledge
is about America and that we are all a nation under one system. The pledge makes us feel
patriotic and American, changing it again would ruin that.
When Under God was added to the pledge in the 1950s the main purpose was to separate
us from atheistic Soviet Union. President Eisenhower made a statement about the new pledge
This is [Pledge], we are reaffirming the transcendence of religious faith in America's heritage
and future[;] in this way we shall constantly strengthen those spiritual weapons which forever
shall be our countrys most powerful resource, in peace or in war. The pledge is not an
allegiance to any god, its more of a nation describing itself as being under god if you dont
believe in God, then you should at least respect the nation that does. The Pledge reminds us that
we are under a system that kept us all united as one, even though we may not the president or the
government, but in end we are all under one system that keeps us all united.
When the Knights of Columbus added Under God to the pledge they had to have reason
to why they added it, everyone has the choice to say the pledge or to not say the pledge, as one of

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member of Knights of Columbus state "If freedom of religion in America means anything at all,
it means that it's just as constitutional to recite the Pledge of Allegiance - complete with the
words 'under God' - as it is to read aloud the Declaration of Independence. They both express the
same truth: that our fundamental rights come from God, our creator, and not from government.
To suggest that the language of the First Amendment prohibits the simple statement of that truth
is to stand the constitution on its head." We have the right to say the pledge or not to say the
pledge, its up to you decide that for yourself, if you like its against your religion to recite the
pledge, then dont say thats why we have freedom of religion.
If the Under God should be removed from the pledge, then should the motto In God We Trust be
removed from our currency? There have been lawsuits by atheist about removing In God We
Trust from the current currency, because they believe that it violated the idea of separation of
church and state and spreading religious idea. If we decide to remove Under God from the
pledge, than we also looking at removing In God We Trust from our currency.
Under God should definitely remain in the pledge, because the pledge is what makes us
feel united and that we are under one system, if you dont want to say under god when you are
saying the pledge you have the option to not say, that why we have freedom of religion, its up to
you to decide, we removed under god from the pledge, it just wont be the same. Removing
under God might also see us removing In God We Trust from our currency.

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Bibliography
http://undergod.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=000063

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/12/atheists-in-god-we-trust_n_3916762.html
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/sep/8/atheists-press-boycott-pledge-allegiance-getunder/
http://www.thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/one_in_three_americans_want_under_god_remove
d_from_pledge_of_allegiance