[url]www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A49473-2002Jun26.html[/url]

I don't see what the problem is. There is no law that requires the Pledge to be recited.

I remember in high school we had two sisters in the home room that would not stand and recite the Pledge due to it violated their religous faith...and NO ONE ever gave them any crap about it either.

Just for the record they were Christians.

Yes, it's true that "under God" was added back in the 50's.  but if they object, just don't say it.  Hell, if they object THAT much, just don't say the Pledge at all.  I had a friend in elementary school who always said he didn't believe in God.  When it came time to say the Pledge, he would alternate in either not saying it, or just leaving out the words "under God."  

As far as students getting harrassed for not saying the pledge, maybe their parents ought to teach them to shut their fvcking mouths.

-Gloftoe

Back in the early 70's there was this one kid who did't believe in God, didn't celebrate any holidays, and did not pledge to the flag. Back then we started our day with a prayer and the pledge.
Needless to say we picked on him.
but his parents denied him any of the joys of the holidays and this kid grew up with a messed up identity.

He's probably a member of Queer Nation now.

Leave it to the 9th to come up with this crap.

Bunch of socialists.

Hmmm, wonder if I could get a law suit going so I could require everyone pay me in gold & silver?

Don't think the Federal Reserve will let that happen.

Wait a minute!

[b]Amendment I.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, [red]or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridge the freedom of speech[/red] or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.[/b]

Isn't this ruling prohibiting the free exercise thereof and abridging freedom of speech?

To say it isn't is to say that you can't recite the Pledge while in school and while you're in school you "belong" to the government.

?????????????[>:/]

Well, this finally puts me on board with those who say the Country should be split into two separate countries--America and some God-forsaken communist utopia.  This is a huge step toward godless communism in this Country.  Voting from the rooftops is looking like a distinct possibility within my lifetime.  Remember this day--it will prove to be pivotal.

But isn't school prayer the establishment of a state religion-what if someone's children went to a school where each day a prayer of a religion the parent did not believe in or found objectionable was recited by the children with the teacher leading it-"I Pray to mighty Cthulhu denizen of the dark" or whatever else the parent finds inappropriate-hey your kids don't HAVE to pray to Cthulhu like everyone else, we aren't pressuring them to...

People stand up in your church and talk about their sexual habits and you can't stop them-man what church is that? Catholic school was never that much fun-I might be willing to stop by some morning [:)]

Interesting topic-this seems like a no brainer to me-a pledge with "under God" ain't gonna fly in a public school, I'm kind of surprised when people get up in arms over it. There is a school near me where for a small donation-to the football team fund or whatever- you could write something in a brick in a sidewalk, you know "Aimless '02 woohoo" or whatever. Well some local minister writes "Jesus Christ is Savior" on a brick and sticks it in the walk. Of course local aethist/hindu whatever family finds this not cool so school has to remove (which I personally agree with) so minister finds some religious group to get him a free lawyer and sue the school for breach of contract, now taxpayers have to spend more money over this fiasco.

So what?  The 1st Amendment states that "Congress shall pass no law respecting an establishment of religion, not prohibiting the free exercise thereof".

It simply means Congress cannot favor one denomination (establishment of religion) over another.  And by "religion" they meant "Christianity"  Don't flame me or say that it's my opinion of what they meant, go look up the dozen or so proposed versions of the Amendment and look up what Fisher Ames, the author of the final wording, said about it. It does not say Congress shall not mention the generic term "God", nor does it say that religious ideology must be separate from government.  In fact, the people that wrote the Constitution and the Bill of Rights that we so revere believed that separating religious (read: Christian) principles from government was the worst thing one could do.  

"Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness"
Who said that?  GEORGE WASHINGTON, in his farewell address!  Washington says don't claim to be a patriot if you try to remove religion and morality from government.

Or how about this?

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, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

That's from the Declaration of Independence.  Government exists to secure man's God-given rights. If it doesn't, we are justified in changing it.  This is meaningless if government is forbidden to have any religious contact.  Our whole national politic is (WAS) based on religious ideology.  No one is forced to believe in Jesus, but we operate our government based on Biblical principles.

Here's some more quotes on the subject of religion and government from those that gave us our nation.
[url]http://www.wallbuilders.com/resources/search/detail.php?ResourceID=21[/url]

You see, the problem is that we are experiencing a fundamental shift in our view of reality in this country.  This country was founded on and used to have a Biblical worldview, that is to say, we used to base our view of philosophy, morality, ethics, politics, the nature of man, and the nature of government on what the Bible says about those things.  You don't have to be a Christian to have a Biblical Worldview, although they are somewhat related. We are in the middle of abandoning the Biblical worldview, with its concepts of absolute truth and higher authority, and replacing it with a Secular Humanist worldview.  Secular Humanism is where man is the ultimate authority and source for truth. In this case, that authority is a Circuit court, who rule by fiat, regardless of what the Constitution says.  In order to function, Secular Humanism requires that all vestiges of the Biblical worldview be removed from society.  That's why we see these cultural battles taking place, the umbrage over the Pledge just being one of them.

For more reading on the clash of worldviews, read David Nobel's book "Understanding the Times"  [url]http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1565072685/ref=ase_inktomi-bkasin-20/102-3860481-5953745[/url]