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Brittney D. Long
Ms. Laurie Oberg
English 11
2/25/16
The Pledge of Allegiance has been a part of American lives, ceremonies, and schools
since 1892. The Pledge was originally written to promote patriotism in youth, so it was
integrated into school proceedings. Schools would often lead a saying of the pledge every
morning. The education system looked at the tradition as a great way to teach patriotism and
respect to young children and so did the public, until about 1954. The pledge has experienced
several revisions since its original publishing and in 1954 the phrase Under God was added.
Over the years this small addition has caused great controversy, some even say that it turns the
pledge of allegiance into a prayer. This essay will look at both sides of that controversy and
explain how the phrase Under God has become an important and integrated part of American
tradition.
In modern day society Under God is a phrase used out pure tradition rather than actual
religious significance. Under God has been a part of the pledge of allegiance since 1954,
meaning that the phrase has been part of the pledge for exactly half of its 124 year life span.
After that long any tradition can lose its original meaning and become a hollow redoing of the
once meaningful activity. So when people say the pledge and include the words Under God
they arent necessarily saying that they believe the country is under God or even that they believe
in god. they are just saying the words that come next, they dont mean anything. If the people do
not make the phrase religious, it wont be.

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The Pledge of allegiance was written and revised during a time in America when religion,
especially christianity, was extremely popular. The inclusion of the phrase Under God was not
something seen as out of place during a time when people still prayed in school and mentioned
god on a regular basis. During this time it was normal for God to be a part of a person's daily life,
even if they didnt personally believe in the christian god. It is important to keep the phrase in the
Pledge of Allegiance because it is a reference to the religious climate of our culture at the time. A
classical writing is like a snapshot of the culture and time it comes out of, if you change the
writing you change the picture that people see. America was once an extremely religious country,
even founded by religious refugees, to erase the phrase out of our pledge is to erase part of the
picture we have created about our history.
Those who oppose the inclusion say things like, the Pledge was now both a patriotic
oath and a public prayer (Baer). This is a very loose point to make, the mention of a deity does
not equate to a worship of that deity. Often times non- religious people say oh my God without
blinking an eye so how does saying God in the pledge mean anything more? Others say that the
phrase violates the idea that America should separate church and state sternly. If that is the case
these people should have been made a long time ago. God is included in several governmental
proceedings, such as the motto of our country, In God We Trust. It is also said that it it
unconstitutional because it forces young children to recite religious terms. while it is
unconstitutional to force someone to pray or partake in religious activities it is important to
remember that every person has the right to refuse to say the pledge or to say the pledge and omit
the phrase Under God. The pledge of allegiance is an important tradition to American culture,
each individual has the personal choice to include the phrase or not. A non-religious person has

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every right to recite the pledge without saying God so a religious person should have every right
to recite the pledge with the inclusion.

In conclusion, the pledge of Allegiance is an important part of all American tradition. It

highlights our history in many ways, not just religiously and that history should not be damaged
or distorted just because someone disagrees with it. The phrase Under God is a personal choice
and should not be forced on or away from anyone.

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Works Cited

Baer, John. The Pledge of Allegiance A Short History. oldtimeisland.org. 1992. Web. 8
Feb. 2016
"One Nation Under God? A Constitutional Question." Legal Backgrounder. Pew Forum
on Religion and Public Life, 19 Mar. 2004. Web. 11 Feb. 2016.
Robinson, B.A. "The U.S. Pledge of Allegiance." Religious Tolerance. Ontario
Consultants on Religious Tolerance, 7 Feb. 2010. Web. 12 Feb. 2016.