Worthy Christian News > Christian > ACLJ Lauches National Education Campaign for Schools: Patriotic Speech – Including “God Bless Americ

ACLJ Lauches National Education Campaign for Schools: Patriotic Speech – Including “God Bless Americ

The ACLJ announced that educational letters will be delivered today to the state school superintendent in every state informing them that patriotic speech including phrases like “God Bless America,” “In God We Trust” and “One nation under God” which is contained in the Pledge of Allegiance is protected speech under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The letter is posted at www.aclj.org.

“It is clear there are organizations that are determined to censor out any mention of God in our nation’s public schools,” said Jay Sekulow, Chief Counsel of the ACLJ. “We want to assure school districts that there is no constitutional crisis created when a school district posts a sign that says ‘God Bless America’ or permits students to recite the Pledge of Allegiance that contains the phrase ‘One nation under God.’ This patriotic speech is constitutionally protected speech and legally permissible. We want to let school districts know that we will defend any school district that is sued for permitting such patriotic speech.”

The ACLJ announced earlier this month that it would make its legal services available – free of charge as it does for all clients – to any school district in the country that faces a legal challenge for permitting such speech. The ACLJ offered its legal services to the school district in Rocklin, California after the ACLU threatened the school district and demanded that it remove a sign of “God Bless America” posted outside an elementary school. The school district has said it will not remove the sign.

Further, the ACLJ sent a letter earlier this month to the Madison, Wisconsin school district urging school officials to rescind a ban prohibiting the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance by students because of concerns about the phrase “One nation under God.” After intense public pressure, the school board rescinded its ban and now permits students to voluntarily recite the Pledge in school.

The ACLJ is giving Americans an opportunity to voice their support for patriotic speech. As part of its national education effort, the ACLJ started a petition campaign on October 15th (www.aclj.org) – and to date – more than 50,000 people have signed on – urging school districts across the nation to post “God Bless America” in schools, permit students to recite the Pledge with the phrase “One nation under God” and resist challenges from groups like the ACLU that may pressure them to censor out such speech in school.

Sekulow said: “At this time of concern and uncertainty in our country, we want to make sure that those who choose to use patriotic speech in school are not censored by organizations determined to remove any reference to God or faith from the public arena. Those attempts are not only legally flawed, but are insulting to the millions of Americans who desire to exercise their constitutional rights. We will notify school officials in every state concerning the results of our petition campaign.”

The ACLJ is an international public interest law firm and educational organization that specializes in constitutional law.