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5th Circuit Upholds Texas Pledge Against Establishment Clause Attack

By Howard M. Friedman

In Croft v. Perry, (5th Cir., Oct. 13, 2010), the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected an Establishment Clause challenge to the Texas pledge of allegiance (which includes the phrase "one state under God") and to a state statute requiring school students to recite the pledge each day.  Treating the suit as a facial challenge to the pledge and the related statute, the court concluded:

The pledge is a patriotic exercise, and it is made no less so by the acknowledgment of Texas?s religious heritage via the inclusion of the phrase "under God." A pledge can constitutionally acknowledge the existence of, and even value, a religious belief without impermissibly favoring that value or belief, without advancing belief over non-belief, and without coercing participation in a religious exercise.

The Houston Chronicle reports on the decision. (See prior related posting.) [Thanks to Kate Shellnutt for the lead.]

Full post as published by Religion Clause on October 15, 2010 (boomark / email).