God and the Pledge, 7(0) years later...

[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 flag.  The retired Navy veteran and Christian sides of me proudly and faithfully honor this daily patriotic ritual; the public high school teacher in me wonders how we can get away with this day after day in a time when it’s just not politically correct to appear-- particularly in a tax-payer funded institution-- proprietary or exclusionary as “one nation under God.”  I consider myself a loyal American with deep spiritual convictions, but, as a teacher, I believe that the Pledge of Allegiance may be sending a mixed message to my students about where we, at the very least the we in my high school of which I am part, endorse an existence of God.  The mixed message is not in the existence (or even a question) of God Himself, but in the singular and daily endorsement itself.

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 or does it validate a profession of faith necessary to be considered a true American?  Most distressing to me is that our national pledge conveys the message that God is officially allowed in my classroom (and, syllogistically, endorsed by my government) for a mere 15 seconds each morning, then for the rest of the day is relegated to private abodes and churches, where He belongs.  In those same 15 seconds He’s allowed public mention, are we telling those kids who have no concept of God or are of other faiths that if they don’t stand hand-over-heart and recite that they are un-American?  Do we make them feel hypocritical (or possibly even heretical) if they don’t?

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. 

I guess, then, that God is allowed to remain in the Pledge for “custodial purposes” only, as well.  And that may be, I’m afraid, the underlying message my students receive each morning in my classroom.