Judge Carlos Bea wrote, representing the majority on the 2 to 1 ruling,
"The Pledge is constitutional".Bea's statement rings without reference. That is because there isn't one. The first amendment determined the conclusion to a similar case in 1962, Engel v. Vitale. Students of New Hyde Park in New York recited, " Almighty God, we acknowledge our dependence upon Thee, and we beg Thy blessings upon us, our parents, our teachers and our Country". The court upheld 6 to 1 that the recitation was unconstitutional under the establishment clause of the first amendment, even though the students of New Hyde Park were not required to say it.
Judge Bea went further to say,
"The Pledge of Allegiance serves to unite our vast nation through the proud recitation of some some of the ideals upon which our republic was founded".It was nowhere near the time of our government being established that God was part of the Pledge of Allegiance. Not unless Thomas Paine wrote the lasting chapters to common sense on his la-z-boy, watching the premier of Lassie in black in white television. The pledge was edited four times and it was not until in 1954 that God became a written/spoken piece of that proverbial American Pie.
Either way, many founding fathers are proven to be deists or secularists. Here are some quotes from some you should recognize (if you don't you might not have made it this far, anyway).
"Leave the matter of religion to the family altar, the church, and the private schools, supported entirely by private contributions. Keep the church and the state forever separated." - Ulysses S. Grant
"Religions are all alike - founded upon fables and mythologies." - Thomas Jefferson
"The divinity of Jesus is made a convenient cover for absurdity." - John Adams
"In no instance have . . . the churches been guardians of the liberties of the people." - James Madison
The treaty of Tripoli, which was initiated by President George Washington, written by John Adams and endorsed by Thomas Jefferson states in Article XI,
"The government of the united states of America is not in any sense founded on the christian religion."Americans were collectively spanked left and right by the Church of England. It shouldn't come as a surprise that there was a united understanding that piousness had no place in government. It is similar to argue in doubt that God should remain on US currency. Instead, I'll leave you with a lasting quote from the famous author, Mark Twain:
"'In God We Trust.' I don't believe it would sound any better if it were true"
