Background on topic

The words 'Under God' were added to the United States pledge of allegiance in 1954 by Congress, in order to distinguish the United States from other countries that were practicing 'godless communism'. Recently, there has been debate whether that addition to our nation's pledge is unconstitutional, violating a person's right to freedom of speech and separation of church and state. Since public schools begin each day with the salute to the flag, atheists and denominations of other religions have been upset since their children are experiencing an introduction to God and religion, implying that there is, undoubtedly, a God. I don't have especially strong feelings about this topic, since I've pledged my allegiance to the flag using God's name since kindergarten. I hate to bring my religious beliefs into the picture, but I do believe in God, and I think that 'One nation, under God' is appropriate for our country to have in it's pledge, simply because without God, our country would be hopeless, faithless, and beaten down.

I chose this topic because I knew there would be a lot of information about it. I have found many articles, including simple letters to editors in magazines, as well as scholarly sources from Internet databases with strong opinions about this topic. Also, it is a topic that directly affects me and my life, since just this morning, all of James Caldwell High School recited the pledge. I know that it will be easier to argue from the athiest point of view, because there is no clear evidence, from the Athiest's point of view, that God exists. However, I could argue that our nation's history is based on a God-beliving society, with founders who beleived every man had equal rights under a divine creator.