Matawan-Aberdeen Schools Sued For 'Under God' Reference In Pledge of Allegiance

The Matawan-Aberdeen Regional School District is being sued by The American Humanist Association on behalf of a local family that objects to their child participating in the Pledge of Allegiance recitation with the words “under God.” 

The family is from Aberdeen and wishes to remain anonymous, according to an announcement of the lawsuit on americanhumanist.org.

The suit claims that daily school-sponsored recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance—declaring to students that the nation is “under God”—words added in 1954 — is discriminatory toward atheist children and their families. 

On its website, the American Humanist Association said it originally sent a letter of complaint to the superintendent of schools for the Matawan-Aberdeen Regional School District in Monmouth County on February 19, but the school system responded by saying it would not change the practice.

In comments to the Asbury Park Press, attorney David Rubin defended the Matawan-Aberdeen school district by saying that although there is a law that requires the recitation of the Pledge, participation is voluntary. Read more on APP.com -->

But David Niose, attorney for the American Humanist Association’s Appignani Humanist Legal Center, says that the daily Pledge ties patriotism to belief in God. “Such a daily exercise portrays atheist and humanist children as second-class citizens, and certainly contributes to anti-atheist prejudices.”   

According to the Association, recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance violates Article 1 of the New Jersey Constitution when it states:  “No person shall be denied the enjoyment of any civil or military right, nor be discriminated against in the exercise of any civil or military right, nor be segregated in the militia or in the public schools, because of religious principles, race, color, ancestry or national origin.”  

You can read details of the lawsuit here. 

Or share your thoughts about whether American schoolchildren should recite the words "Under God" included in the Pledge of Allegiance.