Pastor Who Helped Put 'Under God' in Pledge of Allegiance Dies
Does God Belong in the Pledge of Allegiance?
In 1952, when George M. Docherty was pastor of the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church in Washington D.C., he gave a sermon in which he argued that the Pledge of Allegiance should acknowledge God. Two years later, on February 7, 1954, Rev. Docherty learned that President Dwight Eisenhower would be attending services at his church. So he decided to give the aforementioned sermon again. At the conclusion of the service, Rev. Docherty had a discussion with Presidnet Eisenhower regarding the relevance of the sermon. You can imagine how delighted he was to discover that President Eisenhower was in full agreement with him.
The very next day, Rep. Charles G. Oakmon (R-Mich) introduced a bill to add "under God" to the Pledge of Allegiance (a companion bill was also introduced in the Senate). Clearly, President Eisenhower was instrumental in getting Rep. Oakmon to introduce the bill. And he did so as a direct result of sitting in the pews of Rev. Docherty's church on that fateful day. President Dwight Eisenhower signed the bill into law on Flag Day that same year.
Does the phrase "under God" violate the first amendment's separation of church and state?
Does the recitation of the phrase, "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance in public schools really violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment? The Rev. George M. Docherty's passing will no doubt breathe new life into this debate. And, no doubt the debate will be acrimonious. So, does the phrase violate the first amendment? Well, the short answer is definitely not. Why? Because a two-word reference to a higher power in the Pledge of Allegiance is not a prayer. The Pledge of Allegiance is a patriotic oath, and nothing more. In addition, no student is required to say "under God" or, for that matter, no student is required to recite the Pledge of Allegiance at all, if that is the student's wish. In fact, the compelled-speech issue was decided once and for all by the Supreme Court 60 years ago in the landmark decision West Virginia Board of Education v. Barnette
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Published by Hartley Engel
I was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada but raised in Los Angeles, California. I have a BA and MsEd degree from USC. View profile
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4 Comments
Post a CommentIt's sad, though, that by the official wording of the Pledge, no atheist may actually Pledge their allegiance. Saying the word 'God' and not meaning it is dishonest and omitting it is not saying the entire Pledge.
I solve the problem by creatively interpreting the word "god" to mean whatever I believe "god" to be, for me.
It's tough. The phrase was NOT in the original Pledge. Historically, it is accurate that religion had a lot to do with people leaving England in order to worship as they choose. Freedom from religious persecution (or rather, being told one way is the only way) was very important to the founding fathers. The majority of American citizens DO believe in a higher power. The question remains as to the name of that higher power...
I thoroughly respect a person's choice to believe or not. However, by removing God from everything that has to do with our country, aren't we disrespecting the rights of those who do believe (like our forefathers). The arguement has always been that references to God offends the non-beliefs of a minority number of individuals. Removing it, however, offends those of us in the majority who do believe. There has be a balance of both sides somewhere along the line so that everyone feels included. In this case, I believe God should be included because He was a very big part of what made this country happen.