It violates religious freedom to remove 'under God' from the Pledge of Allegiance

The argument

Proponents of this position argue that removing the phrase "under God" from the Pledge of Allegiance would itself be an act of religious discrimination, and therefore a violation of the religious freedom protected by the First Amendment. The reasoning turns on how the removal would be read. The phrase was added with reference to Christianity, so striking it out would not be experienced as a neutral tidying of the text; it would single out the one element of the Pledge that acknowledges a religious commitment, and remove it. On this account that is discrimination against Christians, and the constitutional protection of religious freedom is precisely what such an act would offend against. The argument then extends well beyond Christianity. Proponents hold that the phrase "under God" is not confined in its reference to the faith that prompted its addition, since a God figure is common to religions generally. The word names, on the definition they appeal to, a being perfect in power, wisdom and goodness who is worshipped as the creator and ruler of the universe — a description that proponents say applies across Judaism, Christianity, Islam and Hinduism alike. A reference that general is available to adherents of each of them, whatever the differences in how they conceive of the being named. That generality is what broadens the claimed injury. If "under God" speaks to every faith with a god or deity figure rather than to one, then removing it discriminates not against Christians alone but against the adherents of all of them at once. What is presented as making the Pledge neutral would, on this argument, take a phrase that accommodates many religions and replace it with one that accommodates none. Because removing "under God" would violate religious freedom in this way, proponents conclude, it should stay in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Context

In the Bill of Rights (adopted in 1791), the First Amendment grants freedom of religion.

Premises

Counter-arguments

The phrase "under God" shouldn't have been added to the Pledge of Allegiance in the first place. It favors Christianity over other religions. For an individual who is an atheist, it is insulting to ask them to say the words "Under God" as they do not believe in the existence of a God-like figure. In addition, Jehovah's Witnesses though they do believe in a God do not believe in pledging to any symbol or object. Therefore, it is a violation of their religious freedom to force them to say those words. It is not a violation of religious freedom to leave out "under God", because people can still choose to say the phrase if they prefer. As much as people have the right to express their religion by saying "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance, they also have the right not to say it as well.

Rejecting the premises

[Rejecting P3] Allowing the phrase to stay discriminates against other religions.