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.
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#Offtopic
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7 답변I got threatened with suspension from my school because i didn't say the pledge because i don't believe in god. xD
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1 답변No, but the government has no authority to respect the establishment of religion, so it should not be in public schools. Same as having under god on the money, shouldn't be there and isn't allowed to be there.
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2 답변I honestly believe it should be removed. America gives people the right to believe, or not to believe in, any religion. But it seems like they took the belief of God and incorporated it into the anthem. I think the anthem should be only about America and should not incorporate any religious beliefs.
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7 답변The problem this country has is that we've continually become more and more whiny crybabies. Everything seems to offend everyone. We cater to insane bullshit. No one takes responsibility for their actions. And, everyone acts like a victim. This country is continuing to devolve in into a bunch of pussies. We need to turn this shit around and remember the ideals that made this country great.
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1 답변God is a very loose term thrown around a lot, god can symbolize most religions but it is the easiest thing to do. Religions have a name for their "god" I guess you could say god represents whatever religion you practice
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11 답변The 1st Amendment prohibits the Fed from establishing a government sanctioned religion and forcing it upon US citizens. The Pledge of Allegiance references God, but in no way states that it is the God of the Bible.
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13 답변Don't like it? Then we'll consider it a cultural appraise; thus, it'll have nothing to do with the first amendment. You still don't like it? Then stop getting mad at something you believe doesn't exist. The burden to disprove is on you. You still don't like it? Ignore it. As you said, it's voluntary.
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Although god is thrown around a lot and really just stands as the generic name for a greater being anymore, but the settlers were enforcing to the natives to learn christianity (if i remember right, its been awhile). Christianity refers to their greater being as god. So logically, its more likely than not talking about Christianity. I dont really care what they put in the pledge, but it is still a violation none the less.
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16 답변작성자: U R My ChewToy 6/12/2015 7:40:51 PM
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7 답변"Under God" is a violation of the First Amendment and the principle of the separation between church and state, and should be removed from the pledge.
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16 답변I personally refuse to say the pledge. I owe my country nothing. Do I love it? Yes. Do I pledge my allegiance to it? No. Seems too tyrannical/socialistic to me.
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1 답변53% want it to stay, 23% don't care. In other words it's staying and get the hell over it.
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Does anyone know why it was added in the first place? It was because communism was anti-religion and the U.S. Government wanted to show that they were anti-communist. So they added it. I don't think that it should be there and I always leave it out.
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