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# Q-Line asks readers whether 'under God' should be removed from the Pledge
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/040204-story/
- Published: 2004-04-02T16:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T04:08:24.000Z
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: Community, Santa Monica, #archive-import

The Supreme Court is currently debating whether or not “under God” should be removed from the Pledge of Allegiance. The question arose when the parents — one an atheist and the other a born-again Christian — of a 9-year-old girl got entangled in a custody battle.

Now the issue has gone all the way to the high court and in 2002, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals declared that reciting the pledge in public schools is unconstitutional because the words “under God” amount to an endorsement of religion — and is not a separation of church and state. If upheld, the ruling would overturn 50 years of common practice in America’s schools.

So this week, Q-Line wants to know: “Should the words ‘under God’ be removed from the Pledge of Allegiance? Why or why not?”

Call (310) 285-8106 with your responses before Friday at 5 p.m. We’ll print them in the weekend edition. Please limit your comments to a minute or less. It might help to think first about the wording of your response.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on April 2, 2004.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/040204.pdf?ref=smdp.com)