[KarenH]

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..."

Most times these days when I read discussions about "establishment of religion," the arguments seem to ignore the historical background which led to the inclusion of this wording in the first amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

England, from which the colonies had just made themselves independent, had (and still has, last I heard), one "established" church. It was a government-sanctioned denomination--a specific organization, with specific creeds, practices, etc. I don't know if this is still true in England, but in some countries, taxpayers are forced to support the one established church and its clergy.

In colonial times, people who held beliefs differing from those of the colonial government-sanctioned church were often persecuted, to the point of having to flee their colony.

The founders of our country wanted to avoid this sort of evil; in fact, they wanted to maximize religious freedom. Hence, the 2-part statement: no government-run churches, and no government restrictions on religion.

But today there are many people who whine any time anyone in government says or does anything the tiniest bit "religious." All Americans--whether government officials or not--have the freedom to express religious beliefs. So if Congress wants to open with a prayer, the Constitution guarantees their right to do so. If a public school child is asked to write a book report on his favorite book, and he writes about the Bible, his teacher has no business telling him to choose another book.

If you don't like someone else saying "Under God," or talking or writing about their religious beliefs, you are entitled to your opinion. But you have no right, under the U.S. constitution, to try to force them to shut up. If you can't stand the religious freedom available in this country, then move to China or Vietnam, where the governments are busy arresting, jailing, and otherwise persecuting religious people.

And if you are a student in Texas, and have to say a pledge to the Texas flag (that sounds ludicrous to a Californian!), no one may force you to say "under God" if you don't want to. But if other people want to say those words, let them. Hearing them say it isn't going to harm you.