'Under God' can remain in Pledge, group says

FREEHOLD – A Monmouth County judge has thrown out a lawsuit against the Matawan-Aberdeen school district seeking to remove the words "under God,'' from the Pledge of Allegiance recited daily by students.

Superior Court Judge David F. Bauman issued a written decision on Wednesday saying that the recitation of those words in the pledge in schools does not violate rights guaranteed to individuals under the New Jersey Constitution.

Bauman's ruling, made public Friday, dismissed a lawsuit filed last year by the American Humanist Association, an organization that works to protect the rights of atheists and other non-religious groups. The lawsuit sought to remove "under God,'' from the pledge recited daily in the school district.

In his written decision, Bauman noted that the nation was founded on a belief in God. He cited historical references to the nation's founding fathers, including George Washington and Benjamin Franklin, and the writers of New Jersey's constitution exhibiting faith in and reliance upon God.

"The words "under God' are now as interwoven through the fabric of the Pledge of Allegiance as the threads of red, white and blue into the fabric of the flag to which the Pledge is recited,'' Bauman wrote in the decision. "As a matter of historical tradition, the words "under God' can no more be expunged from the national consciousness than the words "In God We Trust' from every coin in the land, than the words "so help me God' from every presidential oath since 1789, or than the prayer that has opened every congressional session of legislative business since 1787.''

Bauman said the Pledge of Allegiance, in its historical context, has never been viewed as a religious exercise, but as a vehicle to transmit "those core values of duty, honor, pride and fidelity to country on which the social contract between the United States and its citizens is ultimately based.''

David Rubin, the school district's attorney, said he is pleased with the judge's decision, but expects the American Humanist Association will appeal it.

"We anticipate there may be an appeal, but are confident that Judge Bauman's decision will be upheld,'' Rubin said.

The American Humanist Association said in a news release that its leaders are disappointed in Bauman's decision, but it did not say whether it plans an appeal.

"The daily Pledge recitation is a core part of how we define patriotism for children on a daily basis, so the exercise is discriminatory if it associates patriotism with God-belief and suggests that atheists and humanists are second-class citizens,'' the association's attorney, David Niose, said in the news release.

Bauman, however, noted that the New Jersey law that requires daily recitation of the pledge in the state's public schools allows any child to abstain from reciting it for any reason, whether religious, political, moral or any other principal.

"There is no classification under the Pledge Statute because, on its face, the recitation of the Pledge is entirely voluntary,'' Bauman said in the decision.

He added that there is no evidence to suggest that the unidentified child on whose behalf the lawsuit was filed has ever been required to provide an explanation for not participating in the pledge.

"I suspect that the judge's decision will not be seen as anything other than an affirmation of our current practices, which we feel adequate to protect the rights of all students, including those who choose not to participate in the Pledge of Allegiance,'' Rubin said of its impact on the school district.

The American Humanist Association filed the lawsuit against the school district last year on behalf of an unnamed family with a child in the school system. The lawsuit claimed that the practice of acknowledging God in the Pledge of Allegiance discriminated against atheists, in violation of New Jersey's constitution. The school district went to court to have the lawsuit dismissed.

The American Humanist Association noted in its lawsuit that the Pledge of Allegiance did not always contain the words "under God,'' and that the phrase was added to it during the McCarthy era.

Bauman in his decision included a passage from a House Report to Congress on the amendment:

"The Report states: "From the time of our earliest history, our peoples and our institutions have reflected the traditional concept that our Nation was founded on a fundamental belief in God. Since our flag is symbolic of our Nation, its constitutional government and the morality of our people, the committee believes it most appropriate that the concept of God be included in the recitations of the pledge of allegiance to the flag.''

Later in Bauman's decision, he noted the founders of the 1947 New Jersey State Constitution prefaced the document by expressing gratitude to "Almighty God.''

Bauman's ruling represents the second time a state court has thwarted the American Humanist Association's attempts to remove "under God'' from the pledge, according to The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, an organization based in Washington, D.C. The Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled last year that recitation of the pledge is not discriminatory because it is voluntary.

The Becket Fund interceded in the New Jersey case on behalf of Samantha Jones, a senior at Highland Regional High School in Blackwood, Camden County, who also wanted the lawsuit dismissed.

"I'm so grateful the court decided that kids like me shouldn't be silenced just because some people object to timeless American values,'' Jones said in a news release issued Friday by the Becket Fund.

Kathleen Hopkins: (732)643-4202; Khopkins@app.com