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"No child should go to school each day to have the class declare that her religious beliefs are wrong in an exercise that portrays her and her family as less patriotic than believers." -David Niose, president of the American Humanist Association. Many people believe that the pledge of allegiance should not be said in schools because it says the words "under god." Beginning each public school day with the Pledge of Allegiance forces non-theistic children to either acknowledge God or stand out as a protestor. The current language of the Pledge of Allegiance as written in our Federal laws states: "I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. If a child attends public school from Kindergarten through 12th grade, they hear that we are a nation under God 2,320 times. Although the Supreme Court said students cannot be required to recite the Pledge of Allegiance in violation of a sincerely held religious belief, a daily recitation declaring that the nation is "under God" forces non-theistic students to either deny or speak out on their religious beliefs, exposing them to bias and judgment. The social and political perils of public school identify non-theistic students as peers to be questioned and possibly ostracized. This forces them to choose to violate their beliefs about God to fit it, or stand as a protestor.
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  1. UnknownApril 11, 2017 at 5:48 AM

    Very good topic! A lot of great details about the Pledge of Allegiance.

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