Summary: Last Thursday, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals (considered to be one of the most liberal courts in the history of the United States) denied an atheist challenge to the words "In God We Trust" and "One Nation Under God" on our nation's currency and pledge. Christopher Merola uses this ruling to show that progress is being made in protecting our First Amendment rights, but there is still a long way to go. He says that in today's ultra-politically correct society, what is defined as tolerance is in fact intolerance. Ordering a teacher to take down a patriotic banner that has Christian references like "In God We Trust" on it so as to be tolerant of those non-Christians in the class is in actuality intolerant of the teacher's right to religious speech. Merola says that as long as the state does not force citizens to practice any religion, the right to display religious paraphernalia should and must be protected.
Opinion: I am happy to see that such a liberal court as the Ninth Court of Appeals came out supporting God in our national pledge and currency. But I agree with Merola: there is a long way to go. Many people in this country have grossly misinterpreted what they call "separation of church and state". Those words are never found in our Constitution; there is in fact no guaranteed exclusion of religion from our government. All that is guaranteed by the Constitution is that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof". The place of the word "God" in the pledge of allegiance and on our currency does not force people to believe in god, nor does it prohibit them from practicing other religious beliefs. It simply reflects the ideals and values of the majority of our country, and, more importantly from a judicial standpoint, preserves the large part that religion, specifically Christianity, has played in shaping this nation throughout history.
Source: http://townhall.com/columnists/ChristopherMerola/2010/03/12/the_separation_of_church_and_state_debate?page=2
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