Religion’s Influence on American National Identity

I was at a meeting last night for a local organization and during the Pledge of Allegiance, saying “one nation, under God” stood out from all the other words. I started thinking about why and when that was added to our pledge and our money. So I asked AI about the origins, and this is what it provided:

The phrase “under God” was added to the U.S. Pledge of Allegiance on June 14, 1954, by a law signed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Congress amended the Flag Code to insert the words after “one nation” during the Cold War to contrast the United States with officially atheist communist states (Public Law 396, 83rd Congress, 1954).

Religious references first appeared on U.S. currency earlier. The motto “In God We Trust” was first placed on coins in 1864, starting with the two-cent piece. Congress passed an act in 1865 authorizing its use on more coins. The Coinage Act of 1873 made inclusion optional. In 1955, Congress passed a law requiring the motto on all U.S. currency. It began appearing on paper money in 1957, first on the one-dollar silver certificate. The 1955 act made the phrase mandatory for all coins and paper currency produced after that year (Public Law 84-140, 1955). It became the official national motto in 1956 (Public Law 84-851).

For those curious, this is what it used to be prior to the above actions by Congress:

I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

I was actually surprised that I hadn’t looked this up sooner given that my belief system has shifted from Christian (Methodist specifically) when I was growing up, to Agnostic while going to school for my Bachelors, and now Atheist now that I’m working towards a Masters. In a country that has kept the separation of church and state intact for the better part of 178 years, it is odd that we would allow fear to erode that separation to “contrast the United States with officially atheist communist states.” Does me being an atheist make me a communist? Or more plausible, does me being an atheist create fear in those running the country that puts their plans to create a Christian Nationalist nation in jeopardy?

As of 2024, according to Pew Research, the United States was comprised of approximately 62% Christian in total. That total includes but is not limited to Protestant (the largest at 40%), Catholic (19%). Several other religions in the Christian faith, such as Orthodox and Mormon, cover the remaining 3%. The blurring of separate between church and state is a slippery slope and will only lead us to larger problems and persecution of those that don’t fit the mold. My main reason for shifting towards atheism was simple, I recognized the hypocrisy of believing a book as proof of the existence of God in the absence of any real tangible proof. If that were applied to everything, we could book passage on the Millenium Falcon and travel the galaxy. The phrase “the bible says…” at the beginning of a sentence immediately makes me cringe.

The cold war is over. We no longer have a need to contrast our beliefs against an enemy’s beliefs. I’m not convinced that it made any difference that we added these words to our pledge and our currency. So much of the hate perpetrated since 1954 in the name of religion was caused by the inclusion of these words. How could we “love thy neighbor” while at the same time lynch non-white human beings for existing? I can’t support, or follow blindly, a religion that doesn’t act what they preach. I truly think the days of religious faith are waning as we continue to learn more about our world around us and realize that miracles are just acts that we can’t yet explain.