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Pledge Of Allegiance Essay

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Patriotism is defined as devoted love, support, and defense of one's country. The purpose of the Pledge of Allegiance is to increase patriotism and unity within our wonderful nation. However, the pledge we know and recite today is not the original; the original, written by Francis Bellamy, read “I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands: one nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” The words “under God” were not added to the pledge until 1954, 62 years after it was originally written. While the phrase contains only two words, the two words are very powerful. It is not the quantity of words, it is the implicit meaning behind them; the addition of God to the Pledge of Allegiance infringes on the religious …show more content…

The words “under God” endorse religion, and imposing a religious belief onto those who don’t share it contradicts the inalienable right promised by the Bill of Rights. The first amendment states that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.” While the pledge is not a law, it has been formally adopted by Congress. Some claim that the phrase “under God” is nondenominational as it is a general reference and does not specify a particular “god,” however the phrase does specify that there is only one god, and therefore is not truly all-inclusive. Douglas Laycock, JD, argues that “We can’t have a nation under God unless there is a God. It doesn’t say one nation under our god, or some gods, or one of the gods. It pretty clearly implies there is only one God and if there is only one God, then the God of the Pledge is the one true God, and other alleged gods around the world are false gods” (Laycock). Not only is the Pledge acknowledging religion, it is disregarding the polytheistic and nontheistic religions that exist in our diverse

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