“I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, One nation Under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all.” That is the current Pledge of Allegiance. In the pledge, it states these two words, Under God. The original Pledge of Allegiance was written in August of 1892 by the socialist minister Francis Bellamy. By adding Under God, the words are forcing Americans to stay loyal to a monotheistic country, and only believe in God, and in no one else.  Also, is forcing people to say the Pledge of Allegiance, specifically the words “Under God”, a form of indoctrination?

To begin, one must first understand of the true nature of the pledge, and its hidden meanings. The two words “Under God”, might be more significant than one might see at first. These two words are very strong, and are also new to the Pledge. “Under God’’ was issued into the pledge by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1954. The original form of the Pledge said “I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." The reason Eisenhower wanted to include the words “under god” was as follows. As stated in the article President Eisenhower Signs “In God We Trust” into Law he states, “In this way we are reaffirming the transcendence of religious faith in America’s heritage and future; in this way we shall constantly strengthen those spiritual weapons which forever will be our country’s most powerful resource in peace and war.” Those are his exact words from his speech on Flag Day in 1954.

The Pledge of Allegiance has been changed two times since the original one was written in 1892. Once it was changed in 1923, and then again by Eisenhower in 1954. In 1923, it said “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." Also, written on all of the currency in the United States is “in god we trust.” That has similar meaning to the words under god, and they basically mean that everyone should believe in  god, and that god is trustworthy, as well as that citizens of the U.S. should trust god with our lives and with our money. Many reports say that forcing people to say the Pledge is not a form of indoctrination because it is only a belief and is not mandatory to say.

Is every US citizen obligated to say the Pledge of Allegiance? The answer to this question is no.  People have the right to not say the Pledge of Allegiance. In 2002, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals decided that reciting the Pledge of Allegiance in schools was an Unconstitutional Endorsement of Religion. Every US citizen should have the right to abstain from the words “Under God” if they do not feel comfortable. They may believe in another god, or feel that their religion doesn’t belong in an American pledge. Being an American has nothing to do with religion.  Many citizens do not say the words under god, because they do not believe in it or do not feel comfortable stating it. Just remember, the words “under god” were added into the Pledge of Allegiance in 1954 when Dwight D. Eisenhower was President.

How many times should the Pledge of Allegiance be stated every day? The Federalist Papers Project constructed a poll on their website. The website said that if you think the Pledge should be stated in the morning to like the page, and if the viewers think the pledge should not be stated regularly to comment on the page. The post received 15,127 likes and received 537 comments, but the majority of the comments were saying that kids should state the Pledge every morning. In many schools, the Pledge of Allegiance is stated every morning over the loudspeaker.

Overall, the Pledge of Allegiance has been changed many times from the original form in 1892. Some words in the Pledge are very controversial, and are very tough and important topics debated now.  Finally, the Pledge of Allegiance says the words under god which says god is trustworthy and we should trust him with our lives. In the United States of America, people believe that they should have the right to privacy of their religious beliefs and, as a result,  many Americans choose to forego the words “Under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance.