The Pledge of Allegiance & Moment of Silence Controversy

Any activity required by public schools will face controversy if it presents a religious connotation. Since 1954, the Pledge of Allegiance has incorporated the words, "under God," introducing a religious aspect into its patriotic rhetoric. To many Americans, that public school students are required to recite it is unconstitutional and unnecessary. This article will present a brief history of the Pledge of Allegiance and the Moment of Silence, as well as a description of the First Amendment and a case study of Russell Tremain, a nine-year old student caught in the middle of a First Amendment case between the ACLU and the state of Washington in 1925.

Keywords: American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU); Allegiance; Church and State; Citizenship; Civil Liberties; First Amendment; Liberty; Moment of Silence; Pledge; Recitation

Overview

All over the United States, public school students rush to their classrooms in the morning and are called to attention when announcements begin sounding over a loudspeaker. Part of the morning ritual is to stand, place their right hands over their hearts, and recite the Pledge of Allegiance in unison with the voice overheard throughout the school. While students are now not required to follow in recitation, they usually do because everyone else does.

Conformity may be the reason most students recite the Pledge, especially young students who cannot fully understand the meaning of the words they are saying. The fact that they are expected to recite them at all is controversial. Many opponents of its recitation argue that the Pledge does not belong in school because it serves no educational purpose for students to memorize and simply recite words. Another controversy involves whether or not students feel pressured to recite the Pledge — which references God — because the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment states that they don't have to.

The Pledge of Allegiance

Frances Bellamy wrote the Pledge of Allegiance in 1892. The United States had recently experienced its Civil War, and patriotism was pushed as a means to rebuild the country. Since it was first written, the Pledge has been revised only twice:

Bellamy wrote his pledge in 1892: "I pledge allegiance to my flag and to the Republic for which it stands-one Nation indivisible-with Liberty and Justice for all" (Ellis 2005, 19) … To show that individuals were pledging allegiance specifically to the U.S. flag, the words "my flag" were changed to "the Flag of the United States of America" in 1924 (Cayton et al. 2005; Miller 1976). Fears about communism, an increased commitment to religion, and a belief in the Christian foundations of our nation led to the phrase "under God" being added to the Pledge of Allegiance in 1954 (Cayton et al.; Ellis 2005, as cited in Martin, 2008, p. 128).

In 2002, almost a year after the September 11 attacks on New York's twin towers, three judges on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that to require students to say "under God" was unconstitutional and that public schools could no longer mandate the Pledge's recitation. Reaction to the decision was overwhelming: "Starting with the president and leaders of both parties in Congress, elected officials poured more uninhibited scorn on the decision than on any other action of a court in living memory" (Clausen, 2002, p. 35). The decision was over-turned and currently, thirty-five states in America require recitation of the Pledge every day in school (Piscatelli, as cited in Martin, 2008, p. 127). In addition, the Pledge of Allegiance is used to welcome new citizens into the country as it is recited at the conclusion of naturalization ceremonies (Parker, 2006).

Moment of Silence

Required moments of silence are not so well-received. In 1985, the state of Alabama not only required a moment of silence for its public school students, the state actually created a prayer for the students to silently recite. The case was brought to the U.S. Supreme Court and the mandate was deemed unconstitutional. However, it was only considered a violation of students' First Amendment rights because it clearly pointed toward a religious affiliation. The Court devised an alternative for Alabama, which the state quickly embraced. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor identified the alternative based on the First Amendment itself:

… the relevant issue is whether an objective observer, acquainted with the text, legislative history, and implementation of the statute, would perceive it [a required moment of silence] as a state endorsement of prayer in public schools. A moment of silence law that is clearly drafted and implemented so as to permit prayer, meditation, and reflection within the prescribed period, without endorsing one alternative over the others, should pass this test (O'Connor as cited in Davis, 2003, p. 432)

In other words, if a moment of silence does not specifically endorse the concept of praying, it can be used as time spent on just about anything that is quiet. Furthermore, whoever is requiring it cannot be seen as forcing a religion because religious affiliation is not required for students to participate. Derek Davis, Editor of Journal of Church & State, identified five ethical arguments against O'Connor's play on words and, more specifically, a required moment of silence in public schools.

First, Davis notes that changing the wording does not change the meaning:

Moments of silence … are constitutional because they are supposedly prayer neutral; that is, students may choose to pray during the prescribed time of meditation, or they can use the time in other ways, such as to prepare mentally for the day or just enjoy the solitude. Yet no one really disputes that moments of silence are primarily efforts to encourage prayer (2003, p. 435).

Second, Davis notes that many people want religion in public schools: "The absence of any form of prayer in the classroom, they argue, is … a sure sign that God has been removed from the schools" (p. 437). At the turn of the 20th Century, public schools were a way for America's poor and immigrant population to receive religious instruction of a Christian nature. In 2010, however, many people believe that 1) everyone has the right to choose his own faith, and 2) should he choose to believe in God, his observance should not be restricted to a public school building. Third, Davis points out that many of the people advocating for a moment of silence are doing so because the lack of moments of prayer have caused the country to become immoral (p. 438). Fourth, Davis point out that religion by any other name does not warrant a required time of observance: "It is rare to find Jews, Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims, and members of other minority communities of faith who favor moments of silence" (p. 439).

Finally, Davis notes that by virtue of the Equal Access Act of 1984, as long as it is not led by teachers or administrators, students can observe religion in public schools without a need for an established moment of silence.

The Act requires religious activity to be student-initiated and student-run, without school officials' oversight and direction, activities consistent with the requirements of the Act are protected by the Free Speech and Free Exercise Clauses and do not violate the Establishment Clause. Moreover, students are free to pray privately any time they choose: before, during, or after school. They are free to read their Bibles, share their faith, pray with other students, distribute religious tracts, or sing religious songs provided these activities do not disrupt other school activities. The Free Exercise Clause protects all of these activities (Davis, 2003, p. 441).

Further Insights

The First Amendment & the Establishment Clause: The Separation of Church & State

The United States Constitution was signed in 1787. Price (2004) notes that in order to focus more on the people — rather than simply describing what the government could and could not do (as the original document does) — the Bill of Rights was added to the Constitution. The third Article is the First Amendment:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

Thomas Jefferson helped create the Bill of Rights, and to clarify the meaning of the First Amendment, he wrote a famous letter to Danbury Baptists to explain the intention of the amendment:

Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between Man & his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should "make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof," thus building a wall of separation between Church & State (Jefferson, as cited in Price, 2004).

The Establishment clause (the first part of the amendment) was created as a way to ensure that the federal government couldn't declare any specific religion to be the religion of America. The Free Exercise clause (the last section of the first part) was created to keep the federal government from telling anyone which religion he could practice, where he could practice it, or when he could practice it, even if practice meant not observing a religion at all. In other words, one religion is not better than another nor is it better to observe religion than not to observe. Thus, the First Amendment is pretty clear: the government can't tell Americans what to do about religion. Yet, in 1954 the phrase, "under God" was added to the Pledge of Allegiance, and children nationwide have been required to recite the phrase every school day since. Many people feel that such a requirement is unconstitutional because it demonstrates the government (public schools) telling American students to observe one religion in opposition to another (God as opposed Buddha, for example) or to observe a religion as opposed to no religion (God infers religion).

Educational Value

Directly following the September 11 attacks of 2001, an outpouring of patriotism took over the country. Part of that patriotism was reflected at the beginning of the school day when the Pledge of Allegiance was recited over a loud speaker. This is certainly a way to show patriotism for those who chose to do so. However, requiring that time be taken out of the school day for students, teachers, and administrators to recite the Pledge of Allegiance has caused a great deal of controversy, especially when state governments are requiring the recitation. In the year following 9/11, "half the states required schools to offer the Pledge during the school day, and five additional states introduced bills [through legislation] to that effect" (Gehring, 2002, as cited in Bennett, 2004, p. 58).

In Colorado, when a law was passed requiring students and teachers in a public school to recite the pledge every day, people challenged the mandate in court arguing that saying the pledge offered no educational value to the school day and that it should therefore not be required.

The court sided with the plaintiffs and enjoined the state from enforcing the statute in the schools. The basis for its ruling was that "pure rote recitation of a pledge … cannot be said to be reasonable or legitimate in a pedagogical sense" and that "there is no legitimate or reasonable educational value to it" (Reporter's Transcript Ruling, 2003, as cited in Bennett, 2004, p. 59-60).

Further, Tomey-Purta (2000) notes that "civic education classes characterized by the discussion of political issues were more likely to result in knowledge and interest in politics than was the rote memorization of factual material" (as cited in Bennett, 2004, p. 66). Indeed, teaching patriotism and using the Pledge of Allegiance as the medium to do it is an educational practice. Saying the pledge for the sake of saying it, however, is not.

Case Study: Russell Tremain

Russell Tremain's parents refused to allow him to say the Pledge, and as a result, nine-year old Russell experienced an unexpected education in civil rights. In September of 1925, Russell Tremain's father requested to the Franklin School in Bellingham, Washington, that the child be allowed to refrain from participating in the daily salute to the flag. Mr. Tremain argued that such salutation (at the time, a hand was raised and outstretched rather than placed over one's heart) supported war and the military, and the Tremains did not. The elder Tremain believed in "a literal interpretation of the Bible, the sinfulness of war, and, most importantly, the authority of God over human institutions" (Henderson, 2005, p. 750). As such, when the Franklin School denied Tremain's request, he refused to allow his son to attend the institution if Russell was expected to recite the Pledge. In 1925, all children were required to attend school and recite the Pledge of Allegiance. When Russell's parents kept him home, they were seen by the state of Washington as unfit parents, and Russell was taken from their home and put into foster care.

Members of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) tried to intervene with the state on the Tremain's behalf, but their intervention was based on the family's First Amendment rights being violated. The Tremains did not care much about their First Amendment rights since in their view God was the only entity with the power to make them follow any laws. Well into the next academic year, members of the ACLU were still fighting for Russell's return home. The organization's fight was recognized by the court because of the unconstitutionality of Russell's removal from his home. However, because the Tremains would not concede their stance based on the constitution (or any laws not created by God), Russell remained apart from them for over two years. Eventually the child was returned, but only because his parents and the court agreed that Russell would attend school — public or private — once he was returned to their care (Henderson, 2005, p. 760). It is likely that Russell did not know the extent to which his parents were in violation of any laws. From the court's perspective, expecting him to attend school but not to say the Pledge was encouraging him to break the law, which made them unfit (Henderson, 2005, p. 760).

Issues

What Does the Pledge Mean?

When he was growing up, Christopher Clausen, author and professor of English at Pennsylvania State University, noted that most of the people around him didn't take issue with the Pledge of Allegiance; he didn't think they thought much about it at all. He concluded that "most of them said they believed in God because it made life easier among other evasive people who also said they believed in God" (2002, p. 38).

Probably I was not the only person in my class who unobtrusively skipped the words "under God" when reciting the revised Pledge of Allegiance. But those two words were even more alienating than the prayers and Bible readings, because leaving them out meant being separated from the national community of which one had always been an unquestioned member … According to today's president and several senators, the Pledge does not endorse religion but merely recognizes that our liberties derive, as the Declaration of Independence proclaims, not from man but from God (Clausen, 2002, p. 39).

Professor of Education at the University of Washington, Walter Parker, has conducted many discussions about the Pledge of Allegiance. Similar to Clausen, Parker points to a defined evasion regarding what the Pledge of Allegiance means. Parker has talked with elementary school students, high school students, and their parents and teachers. Without choosing sides by saying that recitation of the Pledge is good or bad, he simply points to his observations noting that most people who say the Pledge don't really know what it means:

Leading seminars on the pledge, I'm struck by three arguments that often unfold. First, and most important to many participants, is the phrase "under God" and what it does to the text when it is present or (as before 1954) absent … Second, to what or whom are we pledging allegiance when we recite it? To the flag, say some. To the nation, say others. No, to the republic, say others, pointing to "for which it stands." Does this argument matter? It does, because only one of these is an idea about how to live with one another. Nazis and Romans pledged allegiance to a man (Heil Hitler, Hail Caesar); countless others have pledged allegiance to a plot of land ("land where my fathers died"). But "to the republic" suggests fidelity to the principles of a constitutional democracy … Then there's the final phrase, "with liberty and justice for all." Here the argument turns on what sort of statement this is. Is it a description or an aspiration? A reality or an ideal? (Parker, 2006, 613).

In Parker's experience, when people fully consider the Pledge of Allegiance, more issues are raised than those of religion and the first amendment. This positive discovery shows that there is much more to the Pledge than those two concepts. Perhaps discussions like the ones he has had should be undertaken at the beginning of each school year — at an assembly, maybe — so that students (and their teachers and parents) can discuss and interpret the words. That way, the recitation of the Pledge would have meaning, not simply exist as an exercise in conformity, and its place in educational settings would have merit. Unlike Russell Tremain, the students choosing not to recite the Pledge as well as their peers who opt to recite freely will be fully informed about that choice.

Terms & Concepts

American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU): A national organization that advocates for the rights of individual people by offering litigation assistance, working toward more effective legislation, and promoting education for the public.

Allegiance: Loyalty; in the case of the Pledge, to the flag and nation of the United States.

Citizenship: Participation as an individual citizen of a country and enjoying the rights and privileges afforded as such.

Civil Liberties: Rights and freedoms granted to Americans based on the Bill of Rights and the amendments therein.

First Amendment: American citizens' freedom of speech, religion, the press, and to peacefully assemble as outlined in the Bill of Rights.

Liberty: "A political, social, and economic right that belongs to the citizens of a state or to all people" (www.encarta.msn.com).

Moment of Silence: The opportunity to use time during the (school) day to reflect on one's thoughts, to meditate, or to pray.

Pledge: A promise.

Prayer in School: The controversial practice of having a specific time during the (school) day for students to pray.

Recitation: Reading or speaking a memorized text out loud.

Bibliography

ACLU. (2002, March 11). The Establishment Clause and public schools. The Establishment Clause and the Schools: A Legal Bulletin. Retrieved September 24, 2010 from ACLU website: http://www.aclu.org/religion-belief/establishment-clause-and-schools-legal-bulletin

Amendment I. (n.d.). United States Constitution: Bill of Rights. Retrieved September 24, 2010 from Cornell University Law School Legal Information Institute: http://topics.law.cornell.edu/constitution/billofrights

Bennett, L. J. (2004). Classroom recitation of the pledge of allegiance and its education value: Analysis, review, and proposal. Journal of Curriculum & Supervision, 20, 56-75. Retrieved June 7, 2010 from EBSCO online database, Academic Search Complete: http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=14616204&site=ehost-live

Chiodo, J. J., Martin, L. A., & Worthington, A. (2011). Does it mean to die for your country? Preservice teachers' views regarding teaching the pledge of allegiance. Educational Forum, 75, 38–51. Retrieved January 2, 2014 from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=56621815

Clausen, C. (2003). Opening exercises. American Scholar, 72, 35. Retrieved June 8, 2010 from EBSCO online database, Academic Search Complete: http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=8898163&site=ehost-live

Davis, D. H. (2003). Moments of silence in America's public schools: Constitutional and ethical considerations. Journal of Church & State, 45, 429-442. Retrieved June 10, 2010 from EBSCO online database, Education Research Complete: http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=10946286&site=ehost-live

Henderson, J. J. (2005). Conditional liberty: The flag salute before Gobitis and Barnette. Journal of Church & State, 47, 747-767. Retrieved June 8, 2010 from EBSCO online database, Academic Search Complete: http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=19281703&site=ehost-live

Martin, L. A. (2012). Blind patriotism or active citizenship? How do students interpret the Pledge of Allegiance?. Action In Teacher Education, 34, 55–64. Retrieved January 2, 2014 from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=73313007

Martin, L. A. (2008). Examining the Pledge of Allegiance. Social Studies, 99, 127-13. Retrieved June 8, 2010 from EBSCO online database, Academic Search Complete: http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=32517670&site=ehost-live

Martin, L. A. (2011). Middle school students' views on the United States Pledge of Allegiance. Journal Of Social Studies Research, 35, 245–258. Retrieved January 2, 2014 from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=90623572

Parker, W. C. (2006). Pledging allegiance. Phi Delta Kappan, 87, 613. Retrieved June 8, 2010 from EBSCO online database, Academic Search Complete: http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=20494028&site=ehost-live

Price, R.G. (2004, Mar 27). History of the separation of church and state in America. Retrieved July 12, 2010 from rationalrevolution.net: http://rationalrevolution.net/articles/history%5fof%5fthe%5fseparation%5fof%5fchu.htm

Tomey-Purta, J. (2000). Comparative perspectives on political socialization and civic education. Comparative Education Review, 44, 89.

Suggested Reading

Center for Civic Education. (1995). We the people: The citizen and the constitution. Calabasas, CA: Center for Civic Education.

Ellis, R. J. (2005). To the flag: The unlikely history of the Pledge of Allegiance. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas.

Gehring, J. (2002). States weigh bills to stoke students' patriotism. Education Week, 21, 19-21.

Frantz, K. (2008). School prayer by any other name? Humanist, 68, 4-5. Retrieved June 10, 2010 from EBSCO online database Academic Search Complete http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=27987278&site=ehost-live

Gotta minute? (2001). Current Events, 100, 1-2. Retrieved June 9, 2010 from EBSCO online database, Education Research Complete: http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=4026561&site=ehost-live

Humphrey, N. (2011). Newdow and the Ninth Circuit: What happened between 2002 and 2010 to change the court's opinion of the constitutionality of the pledge to the flag?. Journal Of Law & Education, 40, 711–718. Retrieved January 2, 2014 from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=66567492

Knowles, T. (1992). Continued legal developments on the school flag. Social Education, 56, 52-54.

Miller, M. S. (1976). Twenty-three words: The life story of the author of the Pledge of Allegiance as told in his own words. Portsmouth, VA: Printcraft Press.

Mixing religion, politics troubles Americans, new poll indicates. (2001). Church & State, 54, 15. Retrieved June 10, 2010 from EBSCO online database, Academic Search Complete: http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=4093755&site=ehost-live

O'Leary, C. E. (1999). To die for: The paradox of American patriotism. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

Piscatelli, J. (2003, August). Pledge of Allegiance. ECS StateNotes: Character/Citizenship Education. Retrieved June 9, 2010 from Education Commission of the States http://www.ecs.org/clearinghouse/47/20/4720.doc

Reporter's Transcript Ruling, Lane v. Owens, Civil Action No. 03-B-1544 (D. Colo., Aug. 21, 2003), 11-12.

Sica, M. G. (1990). The school flag movement: Origin and influence. Social Education 54, 380-84.

Tolo, K. W. (1999). Civic education of American youth: From state policies to school district practices. Report 133 by the policy research project on civic education policies and practices. Austin, TX: Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, University of Texas at Austin.

Walsh, M. (2013). Massachusetts high court weighs 'pledge' in schools. Education Week, 33, 4. Retrieved January 2, 2014 from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=90249285

Williams, M. (1992). Preparing for the centennial of the Pledge of Allegiance: An annotated bibliography. Social Studies and the Young Learner, 55, 4, 13.

Essay by Maureen McMahon, M.S.

Ms. McMahon has a Master's degree in Curriculum Development from the University at Albany and has worked in higher education for the past ten years. She is currently providing academic counseling for students in a small private institution in the Adirondacks. Ms. McMahon has taught developmental writing and English composition in the past and is currently teaching technical communication and first-year seminar in addition to her administrative position. She resides in upstate New York.