Resources

• Court upholds 'Under God' in Texas pledge
  link to the article
  

• Court denies injunction on state pledge
  http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/5091075.html
  

• Couple wants 'God' out of Texas pledge
  link to the article
  
  
• The First Amendment – Establishment Clause
  http://citizenbee.org/user/StudentGuide.aspx?id=783
  
  
• Elk Grove Unified School District v. Newdow (2004)
  http://www.oyez.org/cases/2000-2009/2003/2003_02_1624/

Discussion Questions

1. What change to the Texas state pledge of allegiance did Texas lawmakers make during the spring of 2007?
   
   They added the words “One state under God.”
   
   
2. Why did a Dallas couple challenge the constitutionality of the change in Federal Court?
   
   The couple asserted that the reference to God was a violation of the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause which, when applied to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment, forbids government from establishing a religion.
   
   
3. How did the Federal Court rule?
   
   The Court refused to issue a preliminary injunction, meaning it refused to block the enforcement of the law.
   
   
4. Do you believe it is a violation of the First Amendment to include the words “under God” in an official—but voluntary—state pledge? (Teachers must lead the class with it, but students may choose not to say it.) Why or why not?
   
   Answers will vary. Some students will disagree with the Federal Court, and say that any mention of a diety in a state-sponsored pledge is contrary to the First Amendment. To describe the state as “under God” in effect excludes citizens who do not believe in God but who must listen to others say the words. Other students will agree with the Federal Court and find no First Amendment violation. They may say that the pledge is voluntary and that for students who decline to say it, merely hearing others use the words “under God” may offend, but it does not constitute “establish[ing] a religion” which is what the First Amendment forbids.
   
   
5. How high should the “wall of separation” between church and state be? In your opinion, which of the following, if any, would violate the First Amendment?

• Public schools begin each day with a moment of silence during which students may read, think, daydream, or pray.
• Public schools begin each day by requiring all teachers and students to salute the American flag and recite the Pledge of Allegiance.
• Students in all public schools in a state are required to say a non-denominational prayer each morning.
• Public schools in a state are required to post the Ten Commandments in all classrooms.
  
  Answers will vary.

Extensions

Have students research the following Supreme Court cases involving religion in public schools.

1. West Virginia v. Barnette (1943)
   http://citizenbee.org/user/StudentGuide.aspx?id=751
   
   
2. Engel v. Vitale (1962)
   http://citizenbee.org/user/StudentGuide.aspx?id=676
   
   
3. Stone v. Graham (1980)
   http://citizenbee.org/user/StudentGuide.aspx?id=718