One nation under God

“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.”

June 14 is Flag Day, when we honor the flag and the republic for which it stands. This year, as we celebrate the ideals and the legacy represented by the Stars and Stripes, it is wise for Christian citizens to reflect on the meaning of the Pledge of Allegiance, and in particular, the statement “one nation under God” and what that means to the rest of the pledge.

Let me start with something that frustrates me: At almost every school or civic function, the pledge, to my view, is said incorrectly. I am talking about the silent pause between “one nation…” and the phrase “…under God.” We should trumpet it without a gap as: “One Nation Under God!” all at once. I recently did so, quite loudly, at a large prayer breakfast to the shock, delight, and amusement of those sitting near me. Proclaiming this phrase correctly really does matter.

Christians should rightly ask whether they should pledge allegiance to anything other than Jesus Christ as Lord overall. But the words of the pledge make clear that although the commitments are deep, they are not an idolatrous covenant to any man, political party, or ideology. “I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands.” Note that the pledge is really not to a flag, but to a limited government under the rule of law. The flag represents the republic. Note that we are not pledging “to the Fatherland” or “the Reich” or “the Motherland,” as in some countries, where there is a cult of the state. Also note that the pledge is not to a person, like the famous oath to the Japanese Emperor or Chancellor Hitler during World War II. Instead, it is allegiance “to the republic.”

So this next phrase is particularly important: “One nation under God.” It provides moral limits on the nature of the allegiance to the republic. From a practical standpoint, there has always been the concern that antifaith forces would work to remove the words “under God” and that those two words would just the slip away into history, leaving us with, “one nation … indivisible.” Those are the same forces that would have us believe “under God” should be relegated to the past and removed from the present. They were also responsible for banning prayer in schools and trying to remove our national motto, “In God We Trust,” from our currency.

“One nation under God” also means that every citizen and every part of the country has an equal citizenship before God. The phrase reminds us that there should be no preferential treatment under law. It also reminds us that, as the Declaration of Independence states, all people are created equal and endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights. That is what “one nation under God” means. The phrase also points to the American story of a melting pot and our secondary national slogan of “E Pluribus Unum” or “out of many, one.”

In a sense, “one nation under God” is perhaps the most important lens for thinking about our national story. The aspirations of the Founders, however imperfectly achieved in the early years, nevertheless were the basis for the end of slavery and the enfranchisement of all men and women. In our own time, the pledge calls on us to honor that legacy of building the republic, to an indivisibility of national purpose.

This is what it means to be an American and what it means to salute the flag. In conclusion, the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag (“and to the republic for which it stands”) is an act of civic participation. It is one of the few things that we still do together as a country. It is absolutely right that it starts our school day. And it is absolutely right that it would be a part of civic functions. We need to model to our children and our fellow adult citizens what it means to be “one nation under God.” We also must explain that the pledge is a collective and solemn pledge to one another, committing us to the values of this country and to handing these values down to our posterity, as stated in the Preamble of our Constitution:

“We the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”