Editorial: The Pledge of Allegiance and American Values

Abstract

The Pledge of Allegiance, recited daily by most schoolchildren across America, has become a topic of considerable controversy since a challenge to the phrase under God, which was added to the pledge in 1954, was recently held by a California federal appeals court to be a violation of the Establishment Clause. Many American citizens, relig ious leaders, and legislators were immediately outraged by the deci sion. The day after the decision, the U.S. Senate voted unanimously to reaffirm the current wording of the Pledge of Allegiance. The next day, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a similar resolution by a vote of 416 to 3, affirming its belief that the ruling is inconsistent with the U.S. Supreme Court's First Amendment jurisprudence. Even Presi dent George W. Bush weighed in on the controversy, calling the ruling ridiculous and inconsistent with the traditions and history of America. Bush stated that his administration would formally ask the U.S. Su preme Court to overrule the California decision. And in the days fol lowing the decision, surveys of Americans, according to the Washington Post, showed that 87 percent support retaining the phrase under God in the pledge. In light of the considerable interest generated by these develop ments, it is important to examine the facts of the case that created this firestorm of controversy, the history of the pledge and how it achieved its place of prominence in Americans' estimation, and the pledge's place in defining the religious aspects of the American public philosophy.