“One Nation, Under God.” Four words have seldom aroused such national controversy. Their presence in the Pledge of Allegiance does not suggest a preference for a particular religion, simply an acknowledgement of a belief in a Creator God. That four-word phrase is not an endorsement for the Christian God or the God of any other religion. Most Americans believe in God in one form or another. The writers of the Declaration of Independence had no qualms at invoking the name of God. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights…” is not a phrase that would have been penned by men who had no belief in a Creator.
One of the “unalienable rights” such as those addressed in the Declaration, is spelled out in the First Amendment’s guarantee of freedom of religion: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion”. This is the portion of the First Amendment that atheists and agnostics quote to support their assertion that any mention of the name “God” constitutes “establishing religion.” They neglect to read the next line of the First Amendment: “or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” This means that while the first phrase forbids establishing a national religion (no one can make a law that would require all citizens to belong to the Roman Catholic Church, or to any number of Protestant churches, or Buddhism, or Islam) no law can forbid religion, either. So the argument of “separation of church and state” is often taken that the mere mention of religion or even the mention of God is forbidden when that is clearly not so. The intent of the Amendment was to guarantee each individual the choice to pursue his or her own religion, whatever it may be. Acknowledging the existence of a Creator God does not violate either phrase of the First Amendment that deals with the free exercise of religion.
No school child is required to say the Pledge- any student who does not wish to say it may abstain. Participation in the recitation of the Pledge is fully voluntary. Ironically, participation in activities that can be perceived as hostile to religion is often mandatory in schools- some parents object to “sex education” in which children are taught that matters of sex are merely “lifestyle choices.” Bible study groups are not permitted in public schools, even with parental consent, but gay and lesbian “support groups” are permitted. Traditional morality is perceived by many educators as archaic or at best, optional. While no one would wish a particular faith to be taught in school, avoiding the issues of morality, responsibility and honorable behavior altogether (fearing “religious” overtones) has resulted in the condition of youth that have no respect for themselves or others.
Human beings for the most part are hard wired with a spiritual nature that causes them to question, “how did we get here?- what is my purpose in the scheme of the universe?” As C.S. Lewis (an atheist who converted to Christianity) so eloquently illustrates in his book, Mere Christianity: “My argument against God was that the universe seemed so cruel and unjust. But how had I gotten this idea of just and unjust ?” Lewis approaches his argument for the Christian God in a principle of “moral law”- conventions that human beings hold as right and wrong. His assertion of faith begins in the reality of moral codes in human societies: where did they come from? Who decided what is right and what is wrong? Humans naturally seek someone or something to aspire to whether they acknowledge it or not. The atheist who denies the existence of a Creator God creates his own gods (idols, if you will)- money, pleasure, fame, the “good of society.” It’s a question of which god one chooses to serve. In America, we are free to choose which god we will serve.
Christianity teaches that belief in the triune God is a gift of grace; a gift freely given. No one is forced into faith. The choice for the Christian God is not a matter of external rules and regulations but a matter of the heart. Humans have always sought a loving Creator God: when the apostle Paul traveled to Athens he found an altar with the inscription “to an unknown god” (Acts 17:23.) Government cannot mandate which God citizens will worship, but human nature is such that humans will seek God. Unfortunately their search may not bring them to God, but to His adversary instead.
“Secular humanism” in its vehement denial of religion has become a religion in and of itself. In an effort to adhere to the first phrase of the First Amendment, the abolition of conventional religion in public life has caused it to be replaced with “humanistic” creeds- setting up men as their own gods. Did we not learn from the likes of Hitler and Stalin that men make extremely poor gods? While our system guarantees that individuals are free to pursue their own interpretations of Who and What God is or is not, it also begs the question: At which altar do you worship?
It is neither just nor Constitutional to remove the name of God from public discourse. Most Americans agree that there is a Higher Power, Source or Creator God. We have, because of our First Amendment freedom, been remarkably tolerant and peaceable in accepting religious differences among ourselves. We have avoided the religious wars that still plague many nations: few Americans can understand why Roman Catholics and Protestants fight each other in Northern Ireland or why Muslims and Hindus fight in India. Religious freedom and tolerance have greatly benefited our nation. Yet freedom of religion is not freedom from religion: even those who choose not to believe in established religions will end up believing in something. Perhaps the mention of God offends those who choose not to believe because even they have built the “altar to an unknown god” despite themselves- that they question their unbelief.