Pledge of Allegiance poll (US flag)

[Sestak]

Radical proposal:

Replace “to the Republic for which it stands” to “to the ideals for which it stands”. Then remove all of “one nation, under God, indivisible”. And maybe add more ideals in addition to “liberty and justice for all”, such as equality etc.

[Sirius_]

Get rid of forced patriotism.

[Crumpets]

I'm fine with having it in schools, as long as students and teachets don't face any punishment for refusing to do it. Not a fan of "under God" but I'm not going to pearl-clutch over it.

[RINO Tom]

Keep the pledge as is, do not force people to recite it (status quo)

This + option 2. The normalization of theocratic tendencies in the U.S. scares me.

Having “under God” is not a theocratic tendency.

Keep it as is.

How? It is the most literal possible manifestation of theocratic tendencies besides possibly Ten Commandments at courthouses.

It doesn't imply that our government is getting its laws from a religion or that our politicians are "ruling in the name of God."  By simply referencing a deity that most people believe in, the Pledge isn't endorsing any specific religion or implying that its governance is directly influenced by a specific deity's (i.e., from a specific religion) teachings/commands.

[fhtagn]

Keep it as is.

[Karpatsky]

Keep the pledge as is, do not force people to recite it (status quo)

This + option 2. The normalization of theocratic tendencies in the U.S. scares me.

Having “under God” is not a theocratic tendency.

Keep it as is.

How? It is the most literal possible manifestation of theocratic tendencies besides possibly Ten Commandments at courthouses.

It doesn't imply that our government is getting its laws from a religion or that our politicians are "ruling in the name of God."  By simply referencing a deity that most people believe in, the Pledge isn't endorsing any specific religion or implying that its governance is directly influenced by a specific deity's (i.e., from a specific religion) teachings/commands.

"...the republic for which it stands one nation, under god, indivisible..." It defines the republic as under the protection of a specifically monotheistic, Abrahamic deity, and let's be real, to suggest that it doesn't refer specifically to Christianity is naive at best. Part of the fundamental definitions of the U.S. government is that it is secular, which is why the original pledge did not include those words in its definition of the country.