One Nation Under God

that governments have a right and obligation to teach and instill those principles necessary for its propagation. This is particularly true of governments based upon the inherent dignity of man, even if some find that dignity in a belief in God while others may find a different, less sacred, route to that conclusion. These precepts are part of a larger concept of religion that governments can not help but endorse. The phrase "under God" in the context of the Pledge means that our rights are not simply a convenient convention but a bedrock tenet of our collective faith. The phrase "under God" represents a conviction that we are called upon to meet our civic obligations.

Yes, the phrase "under God" is an endorsement of a religion, a civic religion whose precepts overlap what we generally consider religious faith. But it is the conventional, more all encompassing religion and religious institutions, the Founders did not wish us to formally establish. The pledge with the phrase "under God" is no more unconstitutional than the Declaration of Independence or the Gettysburg Address.

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For an excellent discussion of the legal and ethical issues involved, much of which informed this article, the reader is directed to "Under God: The History of a Phrase," James Pierson, The Weekly Standard, pages 19-23, October 27, 2003.

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