[I suppose this post is more et al than theolog(ic)...]
I drafted the following essay for a local newspaper about 7 years ago, but changed my mind and chose a different topic to submit instead. So, while this opinion piece was never published, it still reflects my sentiments regarding the Pledge of Allegiance. I have tweaked it a tad, but it reads pretty much the same as in 2008. Today marks the 70th anniversary of Congress' adoption of the Pledge in 1945 and after reading a column in today's paper entitled What the Pledge of Allegiance means in today’s America (published yesterday in the Austin American-Statesman), I thought it apropos to speak up (again...sort of), and to note that the author of the version Congress adopted was written by Baptist preacher and "Christian socialist" Francis Bellamy, who intentionally left out any mention of God; I find it curious that the State found it necessary to include Him some years later...
I teach in a
public high school. Every morning at approximately 8:55 , announcements are broadcast
school-wide immediately after a recital of pledges of allegiance to, first, the
American flag and then to our state
At no other time
during the school day is the mention of God officially permitted. School districts like mine can no longer
promote “Christmas” (even in the oxymoronic secular sense) celebrations and
extracurricular organizations and activities are carefully sanctioned, as not
to inadvertently be perceived as “religious” (and, thus, exclusionary). While it still seems to be perfectly okay to
publicly address God in prayer before a high school football game in some parts
of this state or for students on some public school campuses around the country
to form a Young Republicans or Democrats club or Gay and Lesbian Alliance, it’s
apparently not okay (at least in my
district) for Christian or Muslim or Jewish students to form a
school-supported, teacher-sponsored “club,” with the curious exception of the
nationally known Fellowship of Christian Athletes, which may soon find itself
having to tip-toe around campuses before too long. (Our students may, however, assemble freely
under the Equal Access Act of 1984 that gives any student-led religious or
other non-curricular group the right to meet on a public school campus.)
So what does the
Pledge really say each morning to my students (who stand complacently and
recite rotely)? Does it instill a
feeling of patriotism and thankfulness for being blessed with the opportunity
to grow up in these United
States
We are so scared
of labels-- most certainly in public schools today-- that I think we sometimes
go too far in our attempts to satisfy everyone; we are striving to attain a
certain degree of socially-, politically-, and religiously-safe homogeneity
that, frankly, is just not possible. We can
allow a Multicultural Club on my campus, but not a Christian Club (nor Muslim
Club, for that matter). We allow Christian
students to participate in “See You at the Pole” gatherings in front of the
school, but forbid teachers from participating in a non-denominational Bible
study on school grounds. We discourage
any type of ecumenical campus-based outreach that could benefit economically disadvantaged
or otherwise socially disenfranchised students (and not by proselytizing or
conversion, but through fellowship). And
in the Pledge, God these days is really just something of a patriotic shoehorn.
Back in 1954,
when Congress added God to the Pledge of Allegiance, it was to make more of a
Cold War political statement in the face of the God-less commies in the Soviet
Union (in fact, in the same year Congress passed the Communist Control Act)
than a confession of national theological unity. In the same vein, the oath “In God We Trust”
was added to our currency the following year.
(How ironic that those who have the least need of Him have the most
mention of Him in their pockets!)
I am not
advocating religious instruction in public school, nor am I for any kind of
mandated statement of faith or fealty (such as our Pledge); however, I firmly
believe that we should offer God an open invitation to visit our public school
campuses at any time, not just during the morning announcements. I firmly believe
that, while God should have the same freedom of access in my school as anyone
else, He should be taught in church. And
I firmly believe that God should be allowed voluntary and unfettered mention in
extracurricular activities that can include both students and faculty. Okay, keep God out of the textbooks and
formal classroom instruction, but let Him roam the halls at will.
If the Pledge of
Allegiance is nothing more than, as then-Supreme Court Chief Justice William
Rehnquist wrote in 2004, “a patriotic ceremony willingly participated in by
other students,” then we are giving God short shrift today on our campuses
across the country. If we believe, as we
profess every morning in our classrooms, that we are truly “one nation under
God,” then let our school districts better reflect this. Under the Equal Access Act, teachers like me
“can be assigned” to a “student-led, non-curriculum club that meets outside of
class time” (chess, political, religious and many similar types of clubs are
considered to be non-curriculum based) for “custodial purposes” only.
