Knights of Columbus Defend Pledge & God

The Knights of Columbus, a conservative Catholic organization largely responsible for the insertion of the words "under God" into the Pledge of Allegiance, has been active in defending the idea that the Pledge should remain a theological oath, not just a political or social statement. The Knights of Columbus are convinced that government endorsement of belief in their god is proper and justified.

From a brief filed when asking the Supreme Court asking it to review the 9th Circuit Court decision to strike those words and rule that their inclusion does not violate the separation of church and state:

[O]ur national ethos has held that we have inalienable rights that the State cannot take away, because the source of those inalienable rights is an authority higher than the State. The Pledge, like the Declaration, is a statement of political philosophy, not theology.

What the Knights of Columbus conveniently forget — or deliberately ignore — is that our rights can be found in the Constitution, a document that starts out “We the People,” not “As God has Ordained.” When politicians start defending a “political philosophy” which is derived from a personal theology that citizens are subjects of someone’s God, be afraid. Be very afraid.

That political philosophy is the basis of every theocracy where political authority is derived from God and maintained through religious ritual (like reciting religious pronouncements). In a democracy, political authority is derived from the people and maintained through free elections, not from gods as defined and interpreted by self-appointed panjandrums of religious correctness and privilege.

 

Read More:

• Separation of Church and State 101
• Church and State News
• Pledge of Allegiance
• Secularism 101