Supreme Court strikes down challenge to words ‘Under God’ in pledge

by Chris Herlinger
Ecumenical News International

NEW YORK — The United States Supreme Court has, in an 8-0 decision, struck down a challenge brought by an avowed atheist who did not want his daughter to recite the words “under God” in the U.S. Pledge of Allegiance.

      While the decision keeps the words in the pledge for now, it was not a clear-cut victory for those who had wanted the court to solidly affirm the disputed part of the pledge, which the father said violated the traditional U.S. separation of church and state.

      Instead, the court said on June 14 the case, brought by Michael Newdow, a California physician and attorney, lacked merit because Newdow does not have sole custody of the 10-year-old girl.

      In an unusual twist, the girl’s mother, Sandra Banning, had told the court she wanted her daughter to recite the pledge in its entirety. Banning is an avowed Christian, and the two parents were never married.

      The judges ruled that a lower federal court had made a mistake in even considering the case, with Justice John Paul Stevens saying that “the interests of this parent and this child are not parallel and, indeed, are potentially in conflict.”

      The lower court had ruled in 2002 that the use of the phrase “under God” was unconstitutional.

      The latest ruling, in effect, delays a potentially more definitive decision as to whether the words “under God” will remain in the pledge.

      However, three justices, including Chief Justice William Rehnquist, issued a separate opinion saying they believed the phrase “under God” as used in the pledge was constitutionally protected.