Pledge of allegiance

Josh Alexander


Pledge of Allegiance: Constitutional or Unconstitutional

Is the Pledge of Allegiance constitutional or unconstitutional, that is the question. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last week ruled, a 2 to 1 decision, that the Pledge of Allegiance was unconstitutional.
Michael A. Newdow, an atheist, whose daughter attends a public school in California, brought this case to court. He states that even though his daughter was not required to say the Pledge of Allegiance in school, her rights were violated when she had to watch and listen to her stated-employed teacher, in a state-funded school, lead classmates in a ritual proclaiming that there is a God.
Madison's original proposal for a bill of rights provision concerning religion read: ''The civil rights of none shall be abridged on account of religious belief or worship, nor shall any national religion be established, nor sh...