Is the Pledge of Allegiance Unconstitutional ?
Albert Mohler
Author, Speaker, President of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
Thursday, September 15, 2005

A federal judge in Sacramento ruled Wednesday that it is unconstitutional to recite the Pledge of Allegiance in public schools. U.S. District Judge Lawrence Karlton ruled that the pledge's reference to one nation "under God" violates the right of children in the public schools to be "free from a coercive requirement to affirm God."

Once again, the driving force behind this case is Michael Newdow, an attorney and medical doctor who won a similar decision at the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in 2002. That court ruled that Newdow, an atheist, had successfully made his case that requiring his daughter to recite the pledge of allegiance with the words "under God" violated his own first amendment freedoms. In essence, the California-based appeals court ruled that the mere presence of the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance constituted an establishment of religion by the government.

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