Texas Flag Pledge Survives Establishment Clause Challenge

A federal judge in Dallas has rejected a challenge to the Texas Pledge of Allegiance, ruling that inclusion of the phrase "under God" does not violate the Establishment Clause.  State law requires that school teachers lead students each  day in a voluntary recitation of the pledge which reads: “Honor the Texas flag; I pledge allegiance to thee, Texas, one state under God, one and indivisible.”  According to one source, the pledge was originally drafted in 1933, but the words "under God" were not added until 2007 when lawmakers sought to acknowledge "our Judeo Christian heritage" and "the presence and influence of God" in the United States.

-Kathleen A. Bergin