One Nation Under God and the Separation of Church and State
I understand that there are people in this country that do not
believe in God. I understand also that there are those who do
believe in God but do not want to serve Him, worship Him, or
acknowlege Him.
There have been people that want to take the phrase "Under God"
out of the Pledge of Allegiance. Those that support the argument
take the stance that they don't believe in God and should not
therefore have to put themselves under something they do not
believe in.
I, however, do believe in God and will not pledge Allegiance to
any country that places itself above God.
So we have now argued ourselves into a pickle barrell.
Let's look at the primary argument for removing "Under God" from
the Pledge: Separation of Church and State.
1) The phrase "Separation of Church and State" is not in the
Constitution. This fact is an often mistaken one. The only time
the word "religion" is found in the Constitution is in the First
Amendment: "Congress shall make no law respecting an
establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise
thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or
the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition
the government for a redress of grievances. "
2) Why should Congress make now law represecting an
establishment of religion? Well, that's a darn good point. I
contend that it is because no one should have religion forced
upon them. And this (at least as I understand it) is the one
argument that I understand and grant at least some credence to
for removing the phrase "under God" from the pledge. I do not
want someone to pledge to God who does not want to, and I
beleive that God doesn't want that either.
3) What brought about "Separation of Church and State" anyway?
Back before the reformation and during the times of Martin
Luther, it was not uncommon for heads of state to also be heads
of the church in that area. This led to the corruption of power
in both political and religious circles. So a separation of
church from the state was meant not to prevent corruption of
state by the church, but to prevent corruption of the church by
the state.
I doubt little that I have resolved any of the arguments here.
For those who fight to remove "under God" from the pledge, to
you I say that I wish you well and if you want, you can hold
your breath during those two words. I, however, will gladly
pledge my allegience to one nation under God.