>Craig,
>
>>My guess is Congress will change the Pledge back to its original form.
>
>I think the Supreme Court will have their say first and that it's not likely that Congress will have to change it.

I think you're probably right, but I'll be the first to jump in here and say that I agree with the decision and that part of the reasoning behind it that I've read so far.

There is _no_ question that "under God" was added specifically to make the point that the US is a religious nation as a way of answering "the Godless Communists." Here's what President Eisenhower said when he signed the act making the change in 1954: "From this day forward, the 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." Given that context, is there any way to deny that that phrase in the Pledge has a religious purpose?

FWIW, I've consciously omitted those words when reciting the Pledge for many years. Regardless of my personal feelings about God, the phrase doesn't belong in a vow of loyalty to my country, which has as part of its creed that each resident may make his or her choices as to belief in God.

Tamar