Community Corner

POLL: Should 'Under God' Be Removed From Pledge?

A Massachusetts family will face a judge this week to ask to remove "under God" from the Pledge of Allegiance.

For generations, it has been a tradition for students across the country to start the day by placing their hands over their hearts and reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.

The controversy over the words "under God" in the pledge - added to the original text by an act of Congress in 1953 - is almost as much of a tradition as the pledge itself. Recently, a Massachusetts family reportedly asked a judge to force their school district to exclude the phrase during recitation, according to a Fox News story.

The family members, who consider themselves atheists, are reportedly arguing that the phrase violates "equal protection" laws and will face a Superior Court judge this week.

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It's not the first time a first amendment case about the pledge has come before the courts: in the 1943, the Supreme Court ruled on behalf of Jehovah's Witnesses who argued forcing their children to say the pledge in a public school violated their right to religious expression (the families felt the practice amounted to idolatry).

In today's poll question, we're asking: Do you think the words "under God" should be removed from the Pledge of Allegiance? Does the pledge discriminate against those who don't believe in God? 

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Let us know what you think by answering our poll question and writing in our comments section.


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