Posted by There has been a great debate in our country over the past few months about the inclusion of the word “under god” in the Pledge of Allegiance. The left decries its uses as a violation of the separation of church and state. The right moans about the government’s supposed hostility to religion.
The constitution provides for separation of church and state on the theory that our government should not endorse any one particular creed. It is a good policy but that does not necessarily mean that the state cannot make religious displays – Christmas trees and the like come to mind. Therein lies the slippery slope. When does one person’s religious display become an affront to another’s right to practise or not practise religion.
To even the most non-practising people of religion, “under God” is a pretty benign invocation of faith. They are not likely to mind that it is there in the first place and the most liberal of us would not even think it amiss until confronted with this issue. If you are atheist however, it can be viewed as an assault on the free non-exercise of religion.
I choose not to approach this subject from the point of someone who values the separation of church and state (though I certainly do). To me, it is an insult that our government would so brazenly use religion for obvious political means in the first place. This phrase was inserted into the Pledge in the 1950’s in an attempt by the government to distinguish ourselves from the ‘godless, evil communists’ – as if favoring the rule of the people wasn’t enough to separate ourselves from them.
The government has no business trying to pass off itself or its people as religious – it is simply too inept to properly celebrate and revere the austere traditions of the world’s religions. This phrase’s inclusion is an insincere and callous misappropriation of religion. Trust me – I’m Muslim – we know all about the misappropriation of a good and caring religion for political means. I do not favor the elimination of the phrase “under God” from the Pledge of Allegiance because I do not like religion. I favor its elimination because I do like my religion.
