The American Humanist Association, which hates all religion with much fire and brimstone, has launched a national campaign to inspire Americans to refuse to say the entire Pledge of Allegiance everywhere, all the time until Congress officially removes the famous phrase “under God” from the patriotic, 31-word oath.
The campaign will include advertisements at bus stops in a couple of places, Washington, D.C. and New York City. There are also YouTube video ads.
The atheist outfit argues that the two words “under God” discriminate against the rights of Americans who are not religious.
Congress added the controversial phrase in 1954, at the height of the Cold War and in the midst of a Red Scare. Copious federal and state court case law has affirmed that no one under any American jurisdiction can be required to recite all or any part of the Pledge of Allegiance.
Nevertheless, the American Humanist Association remains concerned that students might be bullied into either mumbling the oath or standing up while others recite it. A website, DontSaythePledge.com, offers tips to students and parents concerned about Pledge-saying harassment.
“Whether you are religious or not, you can make a statement for true inclusiveness. Support liberty and justice for all, and support indivisibility. Stand up for America by sitting down during the Pledge of Allegiance until the inclusive version is restored,” the website urges.
“We want everyone to know that the current wording of the Pledge discriminates against atheists and others who are good without a god, and we want them to stand up for fairness by sitting down until the Pledge is restored to its original, unifying form,” said American Humanist Association Roy Speckhardt in a press release sent directly to The Daily Caller.
“Through the daily Pledge exercise, our public schools are defining patriotism by promoting god-belief while stigmatizing atheist and humanist children,” added David Niose, a legal director for the religion-despising organization.
The American Humanist Association claims that 34 percent of all Americans support removing “under God” from the Pledge, which, of course, means that up to 66 percent of all Americans support keeping “under God” in the patriotic vow.
The American Humanist Association is always on the hunt for instances when someone, somewhere might be besmirched by some passing contact with religion.
In March, it sued a New Jersey school district in state court on the premise that the phrase “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance discriminates against atheist children. The lawsuit asserted that the phrase “marginalizes atheist and humanist kids as something less than ideal patriots.” The plaintiffs in the lawsuit were an anonymous family. (RELATED: Atheist family sues to keep New Jersey students from saying ‘under God’ in Pledge of Allegiance)
In December, the group sued a South Carolina elementary school for holding its fifth grade graduation ceremony inside a Christian university’s chapel instead of its own “hot, crowded” cafeteria. The parents of one of the students objected to the ceremony, alleging that their daughter’s Constitutional rights were violated because she had to sit for a while inside a church for a completely non-religious event. (RELATED: Thanks, Atheists: Fifth Graders Must Endure ‘Hot, Crowded’ Graduation)
Last August, the American Humanist Association threatened to sue a Gainesville, Ga. high school if the football coaches didn’t quit praying with the team and if all biblical or religious messages were not removed from team documents. (RELATED: Town Outraged After Atheists Demand HS Football Be Cleansed Of Religion)
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