"I pledge allegiance to the flag of The United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

It seems that these words are causing quite a stir these days.

Not because people don't want to pledge allegiance to the stars and stripes. I don't think many people would cause an uproar about being patriotic these days because of our situation overseas.

But, some people do have a problem with the religious reference in the pledge.

Under God -- it baffles me that those words have become offensive.

But they have, and it all started with Michael Newdow, an atheist in California, who sued the Sacramento County school district because he felt that making his 9-year-old daughter say the pledge every morning violated her religious liberty, according to www.cnn.com.

Newdow said, according to www.cnn.com, "The Constitution says that government isn't supposed to be infusing religion into our society, and so I asked to have that upheld."

Well in June 2002, Newdow won his case when the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals banned the teacher-led pledge in nine Western states under its jurisdiction.

Now the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear a case involving whether schoolchildren can be allowed to say the pledge voluntarily. If they decide no then the pledge will be banned from all public schools, according to www.cnn.com.

I have faith that the Supreme Court will do the right thing and keep the pledge in our schools.

The Supreme Court has twice previously declared the pledge constitutional.

In 1940, the court ruled that public school students could be forced to salute the American flag and say the pledge, but three years later, they overturned their ruling and said it was voluntary to say the pledge and salute the flag.

But, that was years before the words "under God" were actually added to the pledge.

In 1954, Congress added the words and that is where the trouble began. It is somewhat ironic seeing that the whole reason people say the pledge should be banned is because of separation of church and state.

Well, Congress putting "under God" in the pledge is the farthest thing from separation that I can think of.

The Bush administration has declared opposition to the ban on the pledge and U.S. attorney General John Ashcroft said, "Our religious heritage has been recognized and celebrated for hundreds of years."

He's right.

In the last verse of the Star Spangled Banner, Francis Scott Key wrote the phrase "Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n rescued land

"Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation."

That "Power" is referring to a higher power.

Our national motto is "In God We Trust," and it is displayed on our currency.

Our nation is full of public references to the nation's belief in God and as far as I am concerned, I believe the more we push God out of the public eye, the more trouble this nation will get into.

I admit I am biased because I am a Christian and I am proud to say I believe in God.

But, I am not alone.

There are 2 billion Christians in the world, making it the most popular religion.

Also, the United States is ranked No. 1 in the world for the highest Christian population with 85 percent.

What ever happened to majority rules?

Let us pledge allegiance to our flag and to our God, and if you disagree, don't participate.

Please don't ruin it for the rest of us.

Nicole Broussard is a senior journalism major from Mandeville and serves as editor for The Tech Talk.