The United State’s Pledge of Allegiance was originally written by Francis Bellamy in 1892.  His version of the pledge read “I Pledge Allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands; one nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”  In 1954, however, President Eisenhower along with other changes added the words “under God”.  Activists have many problems with the “controversial” phrase but others argue that other constitutional documents referenced god and religion and that is apart of and reflects American culture.  

Proponents of the phrase being in the pledge argue that more than 80% of Americans support the words and it would be a hard and excruciating battle to try to get it removed.  A post in favor of “under God” on debate.org claims that “The only ones that would be harmed are the ones that don’t believe. America is truly one nation under God. What do you explain our motto… “In God We Trust” it’s on the dollar bill. Our song, God bless America.”  

Those wishing to ban the phrase from our pledge defend their claim by saying that church and state should remain separate and that saying under God is a reflection of what America believes is outrageous especially since there is a decent portion of individuals that do not believe in God.

In my personal opinion, the words should not be enforced or deleted, as Americans we have the privilege of freedom of speech and should not have to or not have to say something that you do not believe in.  No one is ever forced to say these word however, having them written down as a representation of what our country stands for could be a little intimidating for some groups of people.