In 1954, Congress amended Title 36 of the United States Code by adding “under God” to the Pledge of Allegiance. California Education Code section 52720 requires appropriate patriotic exercises to be practiced in every public elementary school every day. Elk Grove Unified School District’s policy required the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance every day pursuant to section 52720 of the California Education Code. Michael A. Newdow’s daughter attended a public school in the Elk Grove Unified School District in California. Each day, teachers at the school led the students in a voluntary recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance, which included the words “under God.” Newdow, being an atheist and divorced with “shared physical custody” of his daughter, challenged the constitutionality of Elk Grove Unified School District’s requirement that teachers lead their classes in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. Newdow filed suit in federal district court in California claiming that Elk Grove’s recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance violated the 1st Amendment Establishment Clause to the Constitution due to the words “under God” being included and thus, his daughter was being subjected to religious indoctrination. The district court dismissed Newdow’s claim on the ground that he lacked legal standing because he was divorced from Sandra Banning, the mother of his daughter, and that he did not have legal custody of his daughter. The Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed the lower court’s ruling, deciding that Newdow did have holding as a parent to sue and that the school district’s policy violated the establishment clause. The school district appealed the decision to the Supreme Court, which granted review.…
The second question of the case is whether or not the reading of the prayer violates the Establishment Clause. The Establishment Clause prohibits laws that respect an establishment of religion by congress. Some parents argued that by having the students and teachers recite the prayer, the public was showing that the government was “respecting an establishment of religion”.…
This case raised issue on whether placing a religious monument on state property violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. The Lemon Test, established in precedent Lemon V. Kurtzman, concluded that to survive an Establishment Clause challenge a policy 1) must have a secular purpose; 2) must have a principal or primary effect that doesn’t advance or inhibit religion; and 3) must not foster excessive government entanglement with religion” (Blazing).…
“Engel and four other parents -- two Jews, an atheist, a Unitarian, and another Protestant -- complained that the prayer was "contrary to the beliefs, religions, or religious practices of both themselves and their children." (Religion in public schools: Engel v. Vitale) After the five parents discussed this topic they came up with a case, and at the end found victory. ” The duty to uphold the Constitution is a fundamental difference between public schools and religious schools.” (Religion and Public Schools).…
"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." The Pledge of Allegiance, written in 1892 by Francis Bellamy has undergone quite an evolution. It was made mandatory in schools by the US Supreme Court in 1940 but was withdrawn three years later, was congressionally recognized as national pledge in 1942 and was further augmented with words “under god” in 1954. Originally meant to be a promise or oath of loyalty to the Republic of United States of America and an expression of patriotism, it has become a lightning rod of controversy, heated passions and lawsuits. The question is whether the Pledge of Allegiance with the words “under god” violates the protections of religious freedoms enshrined in the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment? The phrase “under god” does not violate the freedom of religion found in the first amendment. This Clause dictates, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise…
Along with time, several American’s viewpoints changed, one including religion. Unfortunately, the Pledge was no longer the simplistic faith to the country. Requiring the recital of the Pledge in the school systems instigated more controversial events. The ongoing contest against the usage of the Pledge led the House of Representatives to construct the Pledge Protections Act of 2005. The bill intended “to amend the federal judicial code to deny jurisdiction to any federal court, including controversies involving the Pledge of Allegiance” (H.R. 2389 (109th)).…
One of the most controversial points that is being debated in America today is the argument of church vs. state. Some people strongly believe that “In God We Trust” should be removed from the dollar bill, and “One nation under God” should be removed from the pledge of allegiance, because they feel that that is like forcing a certain faith upon people in a free country. Others strongly believe that we should keep those sayings on the money and in the pledge because it’s sticking to what America’s founding fathers believed and wanted. It is evident that this topic is hotly debated, but it is not yet evident which side is right.…
The State should keep everything separated in order to not offend anyone, such as individuals like Mr. Agnostic. Our Constitution ensures that we will protect the people rights and liberties by not promoting or funding just one religion. The constitution establish that the government funds should be prohibited from funding religious exercise. Individuals have the freedom to exercise their religion but not with governmental funds unless the purpose is secular. In Mr. Agnostic case, The Ten Commandments in a public facility can be seen as the U.S has adopted an official national religion, in which it’s promoting. Not only is the religious monument in a public park but the State has to paid for the upkeep, which is not supported in the constitution. Using the case in 1941, the Everson v. Board of Education, Justice Black gave the opinion to the court in which he mentions how the “amendment requires states to be a neutral in its relations with groups of religious believers and non-believers; it does not require the state to be their adversary. State power is no more to be used so as to handicap religions. Than it is to favor them.” (135) The State is the reason why the conflict exists because they did not maintain a neutral ground and maintain separation. The religious monument should not be on State property. The religious monument fails the secular…
The pledge of allegiance has remained an important part of the American legacy and culture. It takes part in the American school system, in American sports, and in many other areas. Many say that the pledge holds a place in their hearts, where it allows them to show their pride for their country. But in this pledge there are two words that have a tendency ring in the ears of many Americans, “under god.” In a country that is proud of the separation of church and state, we leave these words in a pledge that is said everyday by millions of Americans who believe and trust the right of separation of church of state yet we fail to do this for a major component in American culture. The words “under god” hold little meaning and should not be placed in the pledge of allegiance, they should be removed permanently.…
The first commandment of the Bible, "thou shalt have no other gods before me;" the first Amendment of the United States Constitution, "congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof" (The Bible, Exodus 20:1–1, Constitution). In America, many argue the country's Amendments were originally based on the Ten Commandments but immediately both the first commandment and first Amendment are not in line with each other. Roy S. Moore of the Alabama Supreme Court installed a giant 5,200 pound granite block in the lobby of Alabama's court that displayed the Ten Commandments. This act was in violation of the first Amendment as the stone is favoring the Christian doctrine in a government courthouse.…
The myth of the United States of America having been founded as a Christian nation has long been circulated throughout our country’s history. Christian historians were the first to put forth this narrative and in today’s world, website writers and editors have taken up the cause. On the website, WhatChristiansWanttoKnow.com, Robert Driskell peddles the myth in an article entitled, “Was the United States of America Founded As A Christian Nation? A Look at the Facts.” Driskell quotes a number of Founding Fathers out of context and uses them as evidence for a Christian nation as well as uses the first amendment to claim that the Constitution did not intend for a strict separation between Church and State.…
Inside the cult, members still practice the polygamy, which is itself again in big conflict with foundation of Christian faith itself, the 6th paragraph of the Ten Commandments of Moses, which says directly that a person cannot commit adultery. But the biggest problem is not com-miting adultery, but the fact that the leader of FLDS and local authorities are in really tight collaboration, in fact, the local bishop holds so big authority over the town, that it would be right to say that the leader of the cult of the FLDS actually runs the town. This way of running the community can be considered as an outlaw and is a real danger to people that live there.…
The Pledge of Allegiance was written to fit any person in any country but the in 1945 the U.S. adopted it and changed it twice to fit our country but it wasn’t used in the morning to start the day for fifty-five years. In 2004 a student named Michael Newdow argued that “under God” challenged the right to freedom of religion and violated the prohibition on the establishment of religion in the First Amendment of the United States…
Again this comes from years of twisting and turning of words and arguments as to the intent of the framers. The issue stems from the interpretation of the wording “Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion”. Some people say that this means that no laws will be made that respects any religion over another, while others argue that the intent of the framers was to prohibit the government from establishing laws that set up one religious point of view as the official religion such as they experienced in England. Regardless of what position people take, the Supreme Court has ruled that there shall be no law that respects one religion over another. This decision affirmed the idea of separation of church and state. In response to this ruling, it has become illegal to display the Ten Commandments in public buildings because this is considered the foundation on which Christianity and Judaism was founded. According to the Supreme Court this display violates the First Amendment rights of those citizens who are not Christians or Jews to have no official religion. Christians argue that while they believe that the Ten Commandments were given to the people by God as a way to self govern themselves according to His will, they also believe that these are good rules for anyone to follow regardless of their religious position and that by removing these laws of God from publicly owned property, it violates the Christians right to freedom of…
The case in question is Barnette v. West Virginia Board of Educations. This case focuses on the Freedom of Religion. Can schools force children to say the pledge of allegiance? Can a school expel a student if they refuse to salute the flag? Evidence provided by the defendant, a scripture, “You must not make for yourself a carved image or a form like anything that is in the heavens above or on the earth below or in the waters under the earth You must not bow down to them nor be enticed to serve them, for I, Jehovah your God, am a God who requires exclusive devotion, bringing punishment for the error of fathers upon sons, upon the third generation and upon the fourth generation of those who hate me”(New World Translation Exodus 20:4, 5), This was used as part of the Beliefs of Jehovah’s Witnesses, who believe that pledging allegiance to a flag is a form of idol worship. The prosecution brought up a past case of Gobitas v. Minersville, reasoning that this case had already decided it was constitutional to force the pledge of allegiance be done or face expulsion. The result of thisBarnette v. West Virginia Board of Education ruled it was unconstitutional to force a student to salute the flag and forcing a student to say the pledge of allegiance was a violation of the First Amendment. The impact of this ruling was a major gain for religious freedom. It opened the…