"Under God" in the Pledge and "In God We Trust"

Imagine yourself as a Christian who is forced to recite a pledge written by a Muslim. No! You do not even need to say anything; all you need to do is stand up and listen to something that is against your faith. This pledge would vary greatly because of one large difference, the pledge would be recited, “I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands; one nation, under Allah, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." This pledge states that the full government and school system supports and believes the idea of Allah. It is ludicrous for the school to make you devote yourself to your country and with a deity that you consider false.
Nowhere in the Constitution is there any mention of any gods or deities whatsoever. “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.” The Establishment Clause of the First Amendment states that there will be no ties between State and religion. We have a democracy in our country, not a theocracy, so that concludes that in such a large, national tradition in our country the statement, "That we have any specific theist statement in our Pledge,” should be a lie. Do not let the specific views of one group of people be forced upon the children our town’s school system. It is simply not enough to just tell the students not to say the pledge; refusing to say the pledge can lead to leaving yourself open to being harassed, insulted, assaulted, and made fun of. Edwin “It would be my position that the various elements of the flag pledge--stand, hand on heart, recite, etc--are so inextricably related that performance of one would constitute a tacit adaptation of the balance. I see it as an all or nothing matter,” Edwin Kagin, National Legal Director for American Atheists, says. The only true answer to this problem is to take “Under God" out of our pledge.
The definition of prayer is, “A reverent petition made to a God or another deity," The American Heritage Dictionary. In other words a prayer is a respectful request made to a God. In the Pledge of Alliance it says "One nation, under God." By saying "Under God" the pledge is requesting that a God will bless us in our future, to give us liberty and justice. No matter what belief you have, you should not be made to ask any deity for blessings, i.e. group prayer. Group prayer has been forbidden from schools since, June 17, 1963. “June 17, 1967 the Supreme Court of the United States kicked reverential Bible reading and prayer recitation out of the nation's public schools,” this headline is upholding to the first amendment, while overlooking other unconstitutional problems in our school. We must kick all of the prayers out of school to promote religious freedom.
The words "under God" were added to the Pledge in 1954 when then U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the bill. When Eisenhower signed the bill he stated, “From this day forward, the millions of our school children 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 man who issued the bill states that it is a dedication of our nation as a whole to his God, which is ties church and state together which does not abide to the first amendment. After he signed the bill Eisenhower also stated, "In this way we are reaffirming the transcendence of religious faith in America's heritage and future; in this way we shall constantly strengthen those spiritual weapons which forever will be our country's most powerful resource in peace and war." By saying, “we are reaffirming the transcendence of religious faith in America's heritage and future,” he says that the whole country is tied to a god. He says this even though the Bill of Rights provides freedom to practice for religion and FROM religion.
The Court’s decision in the case of Lemon verses Kurtzman established the “Lemon Test”:
1. The government's action must have a legitimate secular purpose;
2. The government's action must not have the primary effect of either advancing or inhibiting religion;
3. The government's action must not result in an "excessive government entanglement" with religion.
If any of these 3 prongs is violated, the government's action is deemed unconstitutional under the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. The Court found that the “Under God” part Pledge failed the first two criteria, stating that the added “Under God” bit of the Pledge was clearly religious for a religious purpose and that the Pledge therefore endorses and fosters religious values. The decision immediately ignited a controversy. Congressmen lined up on the steps of the Capitol to recite the Pledge in the name of God. Both the House and the Senate enacted a bill reaffirming “under God” in the Pledge. President George WH Bush signed the law November 13.

The first mention of any deity in the United States Government was put on the two cent coin in 1864. In 1955 Congress enacted a law to put “In God We Trust” on our currency.
Michael Newdow is an attorney and emergency medicine physician that fought against the 9th appellate courts several times, both expelling “Under God” from the pledge and “In God We Trust” from our currency."I want to be treated equally," said Michael Newdow, "They want to have their religious views espoused by the government." Newdow is best recognized as the father who sued his daughter's school district for having “Under God” in the pledge. The court of ruled in Newdow's favor, but when the case went to the Supreme court, the new ruling stated that he lacked standing to sue because Newdow didn’t have full custody of his child.
Years later a court in San Francisco ruled in Newdow’s favor. The school district argued that the pledge is a "patriotic exercise" a tradition.
Judge Dorothy W. Nelson, of the 9th circuit court, asked the school district attorney whether removing the words "under God" would hurt the “patriotic exercise”.
"Not necessarily," the attorney retorted.
Newdow’s fight was filled with passion and hope for equality. Newdow cited Bible quotes and he kept a neutral attitude towards religion, Newdow Insisted that he just wanted equal rights for himself and his children.
Later that year Newdow sued Congress, because of having “In God We Trust” on our currency. Newdow argued that it violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.
The court turned Newdow down and said that just saying and seeing the words did not infringe Newdow’s right as an atheist.
Questioning from the judges seemed to indicate their willingness to get the matters to the U.S. Supreme Court for consideration;
"How is pledging allegiance to a nation under God not a religious act?" Nelson asked.
"It affects Mr. Newdow every moment of his life," Judge Stephen Reinhardt said. "The government has no compelling interest to put a slogan on a dollar bill."