It's been heavily debated whether the phrase "one nation under God" should be removed from the Pledge of Allegiance. Everyday students in public schools recite these words, regardless of their viewpoints. This, of course, promotes the Christian doctrine and, essentially, encourages Americans to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. As an atheist, I object to this. As an American, I object to this. Public schools should not have a bias towards any religion, considering they are funded by taxpayers.

Unfortunately, I made the mistake of discussing this was a born-again Christian. He quickly dismissed this idea, stating that Christian values are the foundation for this country and, as a result, should not be changed. He also believed that "one nation under God" applied to religions other than Christianity, and didn't assert a bias towards Christianity.

I politely disagreed; "one nation under God" only applies to a select group. "God" is singular, eliminating any polytheistic religions, such as Hinduism. The term "God" does not equate to "Allah", meaning this phrase doesn't apply to Islam. Lastly, Buddhists and secular thinkers refute the existence of a deity. There are only four major world religions and only one major religion applies to this phrase.

If anyone else has anything else to add, I would love to hear it! - Belle Marie