We’re familiar with the Pledge of Allegiance. We’ve been reciting it since elementary school. When it comes to the words “under God,” many start to question the pledge. Isn’t it wrong to force Christianity on atheists or people who practice a different religion? Furthermore, doesn’t it set a bad precedent about religion and education? Why should we still have something that was only instituted during the Cold War to enforce anti-communist sentiment? By only representing one religious practice, it makes others feel that that practice is societally dominant, and their religion, or absence thereof, is lesser, or not accepted.
Eighth grader Ysabella Jung agreed, “By having only one part of America represented, it makes the other parts feel inadequate.” She continued, “At the very least, there should be a compromise that is inclusive to all.”
Perhaps this compromise could be simply getting rid of the “under God” in the pledge, or replacing it with something else? According to an Outlook survey of 62 middle school students, 51% of the 47 people who responded to the part of the survey regarding replacements for the “under God” suggested “for the people” as a possible replacement.
The “under God” doesn’t follow the values of our Constitution, which states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” It is not in direct conflict with the pledge since we don’t have to recite it (it is simply something our school does), but the underlying idea is that people have the right to religious freedom, and by having the words “under God,” it implies that Christianity is the only accepted religion. Besides, the law doesn’t require us to do the pledge, so it would be easy to remove in theory.
Those who support the Pledge of Allegiance in school emphasize how most are used to it, and how Christianity is very important to the history and culture of America. Although Christianity is important to America, religious freedom is as well, and we shouldn’t ignore other cultures that make up America just because these other sectors represent the minority.
Others agree. Seventh grader Harlan Thakur de Beer stated, “I think it’s not relevant anymore and honestly never was.” He continued, “It can force people to pledge to something that they don’t believe in.” Sixth Grader Rosabelle Doan-Casale agreed, mentioning how “Some people don’t believe in God or have a religion.”
For overall data, according to the aforementioned survey, 37.1% (23 people) expressed negative sentiments towards the “under God”, 35.5% (22 people) felt neutral, and 27.4% (17 people) expressed positive sentiments. This is a difference of 9.7% (6 people).
Some teachers had fairly neutral stances. Jeffrey Sniffen, sixth-grade Social Studies Teacher, stated, “Personally, I am indifferent to the words. On one hand, Christianity is a big part of American culture. On the other hand, I also can see why people can feel excluded by the words.”
Overall, we should be careful in how we treat religion in our school, promoting religious freedom and constitutional values. No one should feel, as 8th grader Isla Hudson said, “one religion is above all.”
