Supreme Court to rule on Pledge of Allegiance in schools

EVANSVILLE -- Susan Herring recites the Pledge of Allegiance with her kindergarten classes three times a day.\n"We have to teach them patriotism and how lucky they are to live in our country," said Herring, who has taught kindergarten for 27 years.\nHer routine could change if the Supreme Court upholds and expands a ruling that removed "under God" from the Pledge of Allegiance in some western states.\nThe court is scheduled to hear the case Wednesday, when an atheist parent defends his position that the "under God" in the pledge is unconstitutional.\nMichael Newdow, of Sacramento, Calif., convinced the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals his daughter's rights are encroached upon when she has to hear her classmates recite "under God" in the pledge.\nThe court ordered students to abstain from a pledge involving the two words in Montana, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Arizona, Alaska, Hawaii, Guam and California.\nIf the Supreme Court affirms the decision, all children in U.S. public schools will be affected.\nAt issue is the First Amendment's establishment clause, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof ... "\nNewdow argued the insertion of "under God" into the Constitution was establishment of religion.\nFor others, the case goes to a core question: Is America one nation under God?\n"I think what really matters is a loss of morality," said Jack Arney, executive pastor of Crossroads Christian Church.\nHe said many values including marriage, children being raised in a family with two parents and people taking responsibility for their actions have declined in the last 50 years.\nArney said the nation's Founding Fathers would not have wanted the Constitution to be used to block expressions of faith.\nThey invoked God when writing the Declaration of Independence, but not in the Constitution, as pointed out by Ayesha Khan, legal director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State.\n"It grossly overstates our nation's history to say we're a nation under God," Khan told The Journal & Courier in Evansville for a story Sunday.\nThe words were not part of the original pledge, which has been tweaked three times since its original 1892 version. In 1954, while the Cold War escalated, President Eisenhower approved the caveat as an affront to atheist Communism.\nIn Evansville-Vanderburgh schools, every elementary school teaches the pledge, said Jean Baresic, assistant superintendent for instruction and curriculum.\nAlthough the high court ruled students cannot be forced to recite the pledge, most children go along with their classmates, officials said.\n"We're talking about children 5 and 6 years old," Khan said. "It's unrealistic to think these kids are going to opt out and face the ridicule of their classmates."\nThe ruling's effect on other aspects of Americana could be questioned, said Jeffrey Scott Granberg-Rademacker, professor of political science at the University of Southern Indiana.\n"What are we going to do with things like our money?" he said.