Virginia Pledge Law Upheld
RICHMOND, Va. — An appeals court Wednesday upheld a Virginia law that requires public schools to lead a daily recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance, rejecting a claim that its reference to God was an unconstitutional promotion of religion.
A suit filed by Edward Myers of Sterling, Va., a father of three, raised the objection to the phrase “one nation under God.”
A three-judge panel of the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the pledge was a patriotic exercise, not an affirmation of religion similar to a prayer.
“Undoubtedly, the pledge contains a religious phrase, and it is demeaning to persons of any faith to assert that the words ‘under God’ contain no religious significance,” Judge Karen Williams wrote.
“The inclusion of those two words, however, does not alter the nature of the pledge as a patriotic activity,” she added.
Myers’ attorney, David Remes, said the 4th Circuit judges failed to examine the pledge’s effect on children.
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