[20060720]RS21250_在效忠誓词中加入“在上帝之下”一词的合宪性.pdf

1 See P.L. 623, Ch. 435, 7, 56 Stat. 380 (1942).2 See P.L. 396, Ch. 297, 68 Stat. 249 (1954). The Pledge is currently codified as “I pledgeallegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands,one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” 4 U.S.C. 4. 3 See Cal. Educ. Code 52720 (1989). Order Code RS21250Updated July 20, 2006The Constitutionality of Including the Phrase“Under God” in the Pledge of Allegiancename redactedLegislative AttorneyAmerican Law DivisionSummaryOn June 26, 2002, a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit had held that the 1954federal statute that added the words “under God” to the Pledge of Allegiance violatesthe Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. The panel also held that a Californiaschool district policy requiring teachers to lead willing school children in reciting thePledge each school day violates the Establishment Clause. A modification issued onFebruary 28, 2003, eliminated the holding regarding the federal statute but retained theruling holding that the California statute coerces children into participating in a religiousexercise. On June 14, 2004, the Supreme Court reversed the