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Collin Teng
Ms. Oberg
English 11
28 February 2016
One Nation, Under God
The Pledge of Allegiance is representative of our culture. It is a symbol of patriotism and
is recited by millions of Americans across the country. But as of late, it has come under criticism
for the phrase under God being unconstitutional and violating the religious subscript of the
first amendment. However, under God should not be taken out of the pledge of allegiance for
many different reasons. First, when the issue was taken to court, which happened on multiple
occasion, it was ruled to leave under God in each time for the same reasons. Second, the idea
of God has been influencing the development of our nation from the start. Third, in a recent
study from the gallup association, 78% of Americans want to keep under God in the pledge and
would be upset if it was taken out.
The Pledge of Allegiance being unconstitutional is not a new idea. In fact it was first
brought to court by Michael Newdow on the terms of his daughter reciting it in school. He
brought it to court on the issue of it being unconstitutional and like many other who followed in
his footsteps he claimed that the school district could not force his daughter to recite it because
of freedom of religion. After going up the court ranking system the court realized that it was
unconstitutional to force children to recite the pledge. In realizing their mistake they claimed that
while the phrase under God would remain in the Pledge of Allegiance, children were given the
option not to say it. The supreme court ruled that the pledge should be left in because it is a
patriotic statement and under God simply represents the religious historical significance of our

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country. The phrase under God is not an acknowledgement that God exists but rather an
acknowledgement of the history of our country. The Supreme Court, the Senate and the House of
Representatives all agreed that the phrase especially outlined our founders understanding that
they were under God's influence as they developed America and its ideals (.
The phrase Under God in our culture is not a new idea, in fact it has been a building
block of america since its creation. Originally the motto for the United Stated was E pluribus
unum which directly translates to one from many. But in the 1950s the motto was changed to
in God we trust due to the pressures of the cold war. But what many Americans, who are
opposed to under God, do not know is that E pluribus unum is also accompanied by Annuit
cptis which directly translates to [he/she/it] favors our undertakings. This phrase directly
alludes to a God and shows that God has in fact been in our culture for a long time. Long enough
for the need to acknowledge the history and influences God has on our history. And the phrase
under God as our motto and in our pledge does not force the religion on to others but rather
recognize the fact that religion has helped shape what we stand for.
It is a fact that the American majority want under God to stay in the pledge of
allegiance. Different sources may have different numbers but in the end they all come down to
the same conclusion: that the majority of citizens in the United States want it left in. Some of
these sources include the Washington times who claim 2 out of every three people want it left in,
and ABC who claim that 78% of Americans want it left in. But the main source that shows the
data accurately is the public opinion poll of 2003 where 68% of all Americans want to leave the
phrase in. In this democracy, it is important to represent the american majority. And when the
majority is to leave in under God it is important to respect the citizens and the majority vote.

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Leaving this phrase in would not only acknowledge our culture and history but would also
represent an accurate view of America.
The opposing force who want to take under God out have brought up the argument that
the phrase has religious affiliation. This argument has been brought up not only in petty
arguments but also as the case was brought up in the court and each time it was refuted with the
argument that the religious affiliation that it has with our culture is only historical and does not
force anyone to acknowledge a God. Furthermore the result of the case trials was that no one was
forced to say the pledge.
The final result, no matter what is said, is that under God must remain in the pledge. It
must remain in it because of the fact that it does not violate our constitution. Because it has been
a part of our culture and our motto since the start of our nation from the founding fathers views
and beliefs to our national motto E Pluribus Unum. And finally because the majority of the
American population want to keep the phrase, in order to represent the majority of the United
States the pledge must remain left untouched.

Work Cited
One Nation Under God. pewforum.org. 19 March 2004. Web. 4 March 2016.

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Pledge of Allegiance Resources. pewforum.org. 11 November 2006. Web. 4 March

2016.
The U.S. Pledge of Allegiance religioustoloerance.org. 15 October 2012. Web. 4
March