Atheist Group Sues NJ School Over Pledge Of Allegiance

An atheist group is suing a New Jersey school district over the “under God” phrase in the Pledge of Allegiance. The national humanist group feels the words in the patriotic pledge are discriminatory toward atheist children. The Pledge of Allegiance was filed against the Matawan-Aberdeen Regional School District by the American Humanist Association.

The atheist organization claims that the “under God” phrase added to the Pledge of Allegiance in 1954 “marginalizes atheist and humanist kids as something less than ideal patriot.” The Washington, DC-based group is acting on behalf of an unnamed family. The anonymous plaintiffs claim the two words in the pledge violate the New Jersey Constitution’s right to equal protection.

American Humanist Association’s Appignani Humanist Legal Center attorney David Niose does not feel that public school districts should allow an activity that “teachers students that patriotism is tied to a belief in God.”

Noise had this to say about the Pledge of Allegiance lawsuit:

“Such a daily exercise portrays atheist and humanist children as second-class citizens and certainly contributes to anti-atheist prejudices.”

Matawan-Aberdeen Regional School District lawyer David Rubin said the school is simply following a state law which requires all schools to have a daily recitation of the pledge. “We are disappointed that this national organization has targeted Matawan-Aberdeen for merely obeying the law as it stands,” Rubin said.

The New Jersey school district superintendent also said:

“If the group who’s brought this lawsuit questions the wisdom of the policy or the legality of it, we believe their arguments are much better directed to the state legislature who’s imposed this requirement on us, rather than suing an individual school district on the matter.”

The American Humanist Association is also awaiting a ruling from the court on a similar Pledge of Allegiance lawsuit in Massachusetts. Atheists do not accept the concept of a belief in God or gods. Humanists reportedly also reject the existence of “values that are grounded in the philosophy of enlightenment, driven by a desire to meet the needs of people in the here and now,” according to excerpts from the New Jersey Pledge of Allegiance lawsuit. The organization also contends that using the “under God” phrase creates an “official atmosphere of disapproval” of their views.

The Pledge of Allegiance was written in 1982. Concerns about Communism were reportedly at least partly responsible for the “under God” phrase being added in 1954. Multiple unsuccessful lawsuits at both the state and federal level have challenged the reference to God in the pledge over the years at the behest of atheist groups and individuals.

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