From the Associated Press (posted at 1524 EDT):

=======================================

SAN FRANCISCO (June 26) - For the first time ever, a federal appeals court
Wednesday declared the Pledge of Allegiance unconstitutional because of the
words ''under God'' added by Congress in 1954.

The ruling, if allowed to stand, means schoolchildren can no longer recite
the pledge, at least in the nine Western states covered by the court.

In a 2-1 decision, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the phrase
amounts to a government endorsement of religion in violation of the
Constitution's Establishment Clause, which requires a separation of church
and state.

''A profession that we are a nation 'under God' is identical, for
Establishment Clause purposes, to a profession that we are a nation 'under
Jesus,' a nation 'under Vishnu,' a nation 'under Zeus,' or a nation 'under no
god,' because none of these professions can be neutral with respect to
religion,'' Judge Alfred T. Goodwin wrote for the three-judge panel.

The government had argued that the religious content of ''one nation under
God'' is minimal.

But the appeals court said that an atheist or a holder of certain
non-Judeo-Christian beliefs could see it as an endorsement of monotheism.

''We are certainly considering seeking further review in the matter,''
Justice Department lawyer Robert Loeb said.

The 9th Circuit covers Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana,
Nevada, Oregon and Washington state. Those are the only states directly
affected by the ruling.

However, the ruling does not take effect for several months, to allow further
appeals. The government can ask the court to reconsider, or take its case to
the U.S. Supreme Court.

The case was brought by Michael A. Newdow, a Sacramento atheist who objected
because his second-grade daughter was required to recite the pledge at the
Elk Grove school district. A federal judge had dismissed his lawsuit.

''I'm an American citizen. I don't like my rights infringed upon by my
government,'' he said in an interview. Newdow called the pledge a ''religious
idea that certain people don't agree with.''

The appeals court said that when President Eisenhower signed the legislation
inserting ''under God'' after the words ''one nation,'' he wrote that
''millions of our schoolchildren will daily proclaim in every city and town,
every village and rural schoolhouse, the dedication of our nation and our
people to the Almighty.''

The court noted that the U.S. Supreme Court has said students cannot hold
religious invocations at graduations and cannot be compelled to recite the
pledge. But when the pledge is recited in a classroom, a student who objects
is confronted with an ''unacceptable choice between participating and
protesting,'' the appeals court said.

''Although students cannot be forced to participate in recitation of the
pledge, the school district is nonetheless conveying a message of state
endorsement of a religious belief when it requires public school teachers to
recite, and lead the recitation of, the current form of the pledge,'' the
court said.

=======================================

Wirt Atmar

* To join/leave the list, search archives, change list settings, *
* etc., please visit http://raven.utc.edu/archives/hp3000-l.html *