The 9th U.S. Court of Appeals decided last week to declare the inclusion of “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance an unconstitutional “endorsement of religion.” Note that the Court of Appeals said the endorsement of religion is unconstitutional, and not the Pledge itself.

The main argument those who support the phrase “under God” have made is that “God” represents an acknowledgment of the importance of religion, not the endorsement of any one particular faith. It represents the “God” of any faith – Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

Not only does this presuppose that only the major religions may be covered under the pledge, but it excludes those whose religions worship several Gods, those who worship female Gods and those who choose not to worship any God. While many Americans are extremely proud of their religion, it is doubtful that they would like to be forced to recite a pledge that directly conflicts with it.

In the 1960s the government ruled that “students who do not wish to recite [the pledge] cannot be forced.” The ability to decline saying the pledge is also something that has been brought up by those disputing the Court of Appeals’ decision.

However, consider the case of Michael Holloman, a student in Atlanta, Georgia who was spanked and given a reprimand after he refused to recite the pledge during a class. His case is currently being considered before another Court of Appeals in Atlanta.

Many people who support keeping the phrase “under God” in the pledge say that it should stay because of its antiquity – it dates back to the ’50s. That phrase was inserted under the jurisdiction of former Senator Joseph McCarthy, whose hatred of communism and atheism led to blacklisting and persecution of many innocent Americans.

The decision of the court is likely to be thrown out, as nine out of 10 Americans oppose it. President Bush publically opposes it, as do most of the members of his administration. Still, it’s too bad that all these people misunderstand the problem, and refuse to accept the importance of the separation of church and state.