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Worshiping the state in school
By Jonathan Zimmerman
NEW YORK – I once led a group of college students in a discussion about the Pledge of Allegiance in our public schools. Most of the students condemned recitations of the pledge - especially its phrase "under God" - as an infringement upon the rights of nonbelievers. Near the end of class, though, one of the pledge's few supporters spoke up.

"Wait a minute," he said. "If the schools can worship George Washington, why can't they worship God?"

The class rose quickly to rebut him, noting that Washington is a "political" figure while God is a "religious" one. Significantly, though, even those students who opposed the mention of God in the pledge thought it was reasonable for schools to revere the Father of our Country. Schools don't pray to Washington, of course, but they certainly deify him - just as they worship America itself. And most Americans would seem to want it that way.

Consider last year's judicial ruling in California, which the Supreme Court recently agreed to review. In striking down a law requiring in-school recitations of the Pledge of Allegiance, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals conceded that "fostering patriotism" was a legitimate educational goal. The problem with the pledge lay only in the words "under God," which were added in 1954 "to advance religion."

So patriotism is in, and religion is out. But what's the difference, really? And why is one acceptable, while the other is not?...

...Similarly, the very practice of the Pledge of Allegiance contradicts its central message. A society that truly respected "liberty and justice for all" would not lead children in collective prayers to a single nation, or to a single God. Americans construe their deities - like their patriotism - in myriad ways. Why pretend otherwise when the kids are in the room?

In the end, then, my pledge-defending student was correct in his premises but wrong in his conclusions. We do worship George Washington in our history books, just as we worship God in the Pledge of Allegiance. But neither type of reverence belongs in our schools, which should teach children how to ask questions on their own. And they can't do that if they already know the "right" answer.