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You may be surprised to know that the phrase “under God” was not included in the original pledge of allegiance. In fact the first edition of the pledge, written by a Baptist minister by the name of Francis Bellamy, penned it without “Under God”. Over the years several changes and additions were made.

First in 1924 when “Unite States” in the allegiance was amended to “United States of America,” and again in 1954 when President Eisenhower signed a bill to add the words “under God.”

Another famous American document, the Declaration of Independence, references God three times. Both of these documents seem to indicate that Americans believe that there is a higher power then the state.

Faith and state are strongly fused in this country and have been from its beginning. Our national identity for over 200 years has referenced God. There are many examples of our nation’s religious heritage. For example we acknowledge God in court when we say “I do” after hearing “Do you promise to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help you God?” Also our currency has the words “In God We Trust” printed on them.

These deistic references have lead many to question whether or not these professions of ‘faith’ in the political realm violate the notion of separation of church and state. The idea is that by having references of God in our governmental documents that its an obvious supporting of a theistic government, that our government supports one religion, which is of course a clear violation of the Constitution.

The truth is though that the ‘god’ in the pledge and other documents is not a violation, because this ‘god’ can be any deity in any number of religions. It’s not establishing a government supported religion because it’s to open to interpretation of who this deity is.

The rub comes when Christians and many other groups of people claim that this country is in fact a Christian nation, that the ‘god’ in these documents is the God of the Bible, the Christian God. This obviously means that the pledge and other such writings violate the Constitution and are thus illegal and must be removed.

We may very well be a Christian nation, but its only in name. Our laws were written by mostly Christian men, our Constitution was written with Christian principles in mind. We are Christian by virtue, not by name, or any governmental support. Our leaders may very well be Christian men, but that’s only because it’s dictated by the Bible to bring your faith into your work. These believers form a tradition of practices that are both culturally and judicially accepted, since no one is forced to become Christian in this country, nor any other religion for that matter, it’s Constitutionally acceptable. And while the judiciary has validated these practices and many others, they have not been elevated to constitutionally protected status.

Ours is a unique faith as far as political theology goes. We are a faith based government that separates the church from the state, but not the believer from the state. We are a Christian nation that does not have a Christian government, only Christian ethics and leaders. We are a religious nation that does not have a religious government, only religious leaders.

There are over 300 religions and denominations in the U.S. and all have the freedom to practice their faith, or not. We are multi-ethnic and multi-religious. America continues its tradition of separation and accommodation that forms the history of church-state relations in America.
To recite or not recite the words “under God” is a right established by the Constitution. The pledge of allegiance is patriotic, not religious.