Washington, D.C. – The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has ruled that teacher-led recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance in public schools, including the words “under God,” does not violate the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution. “The Pledge is constitutional,” concluded the court, dismissing the latest attack by atheist Michael Newdow to remove every reference to God from the public square.
Penny Young Nance, CEO of Concerned Women for America (CWA), said, “This is a great victory for all Americans and the rule of law. There is no question that this nation was founded on the fundamental belief that we are endowed by our Creator with certain inalienable rights. We are pleased that the Ninth Circuit recognized that and dismissed the misguided efforts to rewrite history and alter the character of our nation through judicial fiat.”
Mario Diaz, Esq., CWA’s Policy Director for Legal Issues, said, “Even the most activist and most overturned court in the country managed to recognize that there is no basis in history or in law that would require the removal of the words ‘under God’ from the Pledge of Allegiance. The court correctly pointed out that the mere mention of God does not immediately establish a religion. Newdow and other progressives want the government to be hostile to religion, an idea that has been emphatically rejected by the Supreme Court and actually runs counter to our form of government. All Americans, including atheists, win with this decision by the Ninth Circuit.”