First, let me ask you to remove all biases. If you are a Christian, don't look at this from a Christian perspective but rather look at this from a [b][i][u]legal[/u][/i][/b] perspective.
[i]NOTE: Remember that Christianity is not special, and there are roughly 3,000 religions just like it. Also remember that Christianity is not the oldest religion, there are about 8 religious texts older than the Hebrew Bible from which it stems.[/i] http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_religion
"[i][b]Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion[/i][/b], or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." - First Amendment
The Pledge of Allegiance is technically a piece of legislation that was passed by Congress. You can read the U.S. Flag Code and its provisions here: http://www.senate.gov/reference/resources/pdf/RL30243.pdf
Now, here are the two most recent versions of the Pledge of Allegiance.
[u][b]1924 - 1954 Version[/b][/u]
"I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands; one Nation indivisible with liberty and justice for all."
[u][b]1954 - Present Version[/b][/u]
"I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation [u]under God[/u], indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."
Let's not kid ourselves here, the "God" with a capital [b]G[/b] is referring to the Abrahamic God which exists in Judaism, Christianity, Islam and Mormonism. It is definitely violating the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment and should not remain in the Pledge. How would you feel if it was [u]under Brahma[/u] or [u]under Zeus[/u] or [u]under Allah[/u] or [u]under Ra[/u] or [u]under Satan[/u]? Chances are, you would feel much different. Religion and government work best when they are [b]separate[/b].
[b]Edit #1:[/b] I understand the Pledge is voluntary, but that isn't the point. The point is that religion has intruded where it doesn't belong. You can't cherrypick the Constitution. And also, I have heard from multiple people that some teachers will make you say it.
[b]Edit #2:[/b] No, I am not offended. No, it really doesn't bother me. No, I really don't care that much. I just felt like bringing awareness to this topic, and see what bungie.net thought about it. This has nothing to do with Atheism vs. Christianity. This is not about my personal feelings or anybody else's. This is simply a matter of the Constitution.
[b]Edit #3:[/b] You either support the First Amendment or you don't. You don't get to pick and choose which parts of the First Amendment suit your own personal feelings.
[b]Final Edit:[/b] I can't believe how many people are whining and crying. Relax, this is just a bungie.net post. You can agree or disagree with it; that's why I made two options (three for the people who don't really care). Why so much butthurt?
[b]Super Final Edit:[/b] This post has made me realize that 70% of bungie.net is made up of whiny butthurt kids. I guess this doesn't really surprise me. Thank you to the other 30% of you who [b]respectfully[/b] agreed or disagreed with me.
[b]My Compromise:[/b] So, I've been thinking, and why don't we just edit the Flag Code to allow 30 seconds for anybody to silently say a prayer, after the pledge is recited? This way, everybody wins. The pledge doesn't endorse any specific religions, and religious people are still allowed to freely express their religion.
English
#Offtopic
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2 RepliesYou're correct. Then again what doesn't the government violate? *sigh*
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2 RepliesThe title and the poll are different. Which question do I answer?
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10 RepliesTo all the people saying keep it, how would you feel if we said "-blam!- God" instead for that part?
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3 RepliesFrom a legal stand point yes it should be but as a christian no keep it
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It should be skipped when announced over intercoms however individuals should have the right to say/add under god. As of right now it feels like it's being shoved down my throat.
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4 RepliesI say keep it just because its always been there. If we were deciding from the start I would say dont put it in. Right now it would be weird to change it and there would be tons of butthurt people.
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I don't think it's appropriate for an official pledge because it doesn't adequately represent all religions and is there for respecting a particular establishment of religion over others.
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5 RepliesReferring to you're second edit, you obliviously do care about it. Ag least enough to make this long post about it and keep adding in edits. But to answer your question no i don't think it should be taken out. Yes, i am a christian but the thing is people will change it themselves. At one of my old schools they removed the "under god" section. I think its like j-walking. No one really stopped because it was technically illegal
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Religion should never influence government. Yet the last day of the week is a saturday, not a Sunday like the Christian calendars in Europe. When my grandmother was a child, she said Monday was the first day of the week on a north American calendar. Now the last day is Saturday, a Jewish holy day.
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4 RepliesThe pledge of allegiance is not legally required, therefore I'm pretty sure since it is not law, it is technically allowed to be there. I don't really care, I don't pledge allegiance to a flag.
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2 RepliesTeachers used to watch us all and made those who didn't say it stay back and say it all over before they could continue on with their lives
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2 RepliesYou can't just go and change the pledge of allegiance guy I mean come on now hahahah
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I argued the -blam!- out of this and I'm not doing it again
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4 RepliesI find it bull how teachers may not say God or mention him, however America is a Christian country that even states "Under God, in divisible" in their pledge.
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Just wanted to add that the Abrahamic god of Christianity, is the same as the Islamic God. So Americans are praising the Islamic god everyday.
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2 RepliesI am a christian. I have a hindu friend that honestly doesnt care that it says it. I have a muslim friend that tells me he says god but means allah. Personally i think it would be an infringement of the first amendment if they took it out. If you don't believe it dont say it.
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10 RepliesI don't care. I think the bigger issue is that King Obama is trying to make it illegal for any talk about guns or equipment (such as knives) online, whether it be forums, "how to" videos, reviews, etc. with 20 years in prison and $1 million fine for every violation.
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3 RepliesAnd Americans wonder why they're stereotyped as being too patriotic? You guys have a legit pledge of allegiance.
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I support it being taken out, just as I support taking out every other reference to God in our government.
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I disagree with it, immensely.
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2 RepliesEverything is offensive now...
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3 RepliesEdited by L_C_Scipio: 6/11/2015 1:17:06 PMPersonally I think "separation of church and state" is the exact opposite of what the First Amendment is really about. It's about freedom of religion, which means practicing whatever religion you want without fear of punishment. So prohibiting prayer in schools is actually a violation of the First Amendment because you're taking away someone's freedom to practice their religion (which is supposed to be protected). Instead, it means that if you want to practice Christianity, you can do that. If you want to practice Islam, or Buddhism, or atheism, you can do that too. The part about Congress not making laws is intended to prevent religions from being declared illegal. Edit: guess I got a little off topic.... :P
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That was added later in the pledge do to the fear of communism. It doesn't really mean anything lol it's just a word. You replace whith any word you want to, Allah, Zues, Flying Spaghetti Monster, etc.
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10 RepliesIt's respect for the religion of our forefathers
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Well everyone was from England at the time so most or all believed in the Christian church so they sought him out and ya.
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14 RepliesIt's pushing beliefs on others. It shouldn't be there