How Catholics added "Under God" in the pledge of allegiance

The Cosmic Knights of Columbus successfully campaigned to have "Nether God" added to our pledge of fidelity.


History of the Pledge of Fidelity:

"The Pledge" was originally written in 1892 by Francis Bellamy (1855 - 1931), an American Baptist government minister, and an active Socialist. He included some of the concepts of his starting time cousin, Edward Bellamy, who wrote a number of socialist utopian novels, such asLooking Backward and Equality . Educated in public schools, post-obit his Father to the pulpit, he preaching at churches in New York and Boston. As he was restive in the ministry building, in 1891, accepted a job from one of his Boston congregants, Daniel S. Ford, principal owner and editor of theYouth's Companion, a family magazine with half a million subscribers. Assigned to the magazine's promotions department, the 37-twelvemonth-old Bellamy gear up to work arranging a patriotic program for schools around the country to coincide with opening ceremonies for the Columbian Exposition in October 1892, the 400th ceremony of Christopher Columbus' arrival in the New World. Bellamy successfully lobbied Congress for a resolution endorsing the schoolhouse ceremony, and he helped convince President Benjamin Harrison to result a proclamation declaring a Columbus 24-hour interval vacation. Millions of schoolchildren nationwide took part in the 1892 Columbus 24-hour interval ceremony, co-ordinate to the Youth's Companion. Bellamy said he heard the pledge for the first time that solar day, October 21, when "4,000 high school boys in Boston roared information technology out together."

Cold War Propaganda of USSR attacking the United states of america

Scare of Growing Atheist-Communism

Following the stop of Earth War 2 in 1945, the threat of Atheist-Communism started to scare the Western Globe, in particular Americans every bit the Cold State of war with the USSR began in 1947. Christian Americans, especially Catholics wanted to assure the country remained culturally Christian. The change was partly motivated of desire to differentiate between communism, which promotes Atheism, and Western capitalistic democracies, which were at least nominally Christian though not the preferred type of regime authority for most Catholics. The phrase "Atheistic Communists" has been repeated so many times that the public has linked Atheism with communism; the two are often considered synonymous. Many consider Atheism as unpatriotic and "united nations-American" as communism. Well-nigh communists, worldwide, are Atheists. Simply, in Northward America, the opposite is non true; most Atheists are non-communists. Although at that place are probably many Atheist and Humanist legislators at the federal and country levels, few if whatsoever are willing to reveal their beliefs, because of the intense prejudice confronting persons holding these belief systems.

Supreme Knight Luke Hart

Supreme Knight Leader & campaign of "One Nation Under God"

Supreme Knight of the Yard.o.C., Mr. Hart was a leading petitioner to accept the words "under God" included in the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. The Knights of Columbus initiated a campaign in 1951 for the public adoption of the phrase "under God" in the U.Southward. Pledge of Allegiance. Mr. Hart became chairman of many important committees and other bodies of the Knights. He headed the trustees of their Foundation for the Preservation of Historic Documents in the Vatican Library in Rome (1951), and in 1958 represented the K. of C. at the coronation of Pope John XXIII. The holder of numerous religious decorations and honorary degress, he was a Knight of the Grand Cross of the Society of St. Gregory and a Privy Chamberlain of Cape and Sword to the Holy Begetter.

"Under God" canonical by Congress & signed by Dwight Eisenhower

President Dwight D. Eisenhower, had expressed the primacy of God over regime in his presidential farewell address: "You and I, my fellow citizens, need to exist strong in our organized religion that all nations, nether God, volition reach the goal of peace with justice." Eisenhower was fond of the phrase "under God," for on Flag Twenty-four hours, June 14, 1954, he signed into law a resolution passed past Congress that amended the U.S. Pledge of Allegiance. Afterward that twelvemonth, he wrote a letter to the Gild thanking the Knights for their efforts in this change, dated, Aug. half dozen of the same twelvemonth, President Eisenhower formally thanked the Club: "And this year we are especially thankful to y'all for your part in the motility to have the words 'nether God' added to our Pledge of Allegiance. These words will remind Americans that despite our slap-up concrete strength we must remain humble. They volition help us to keep constantly in our minds and hearts the spiritual and moral principles which alone give dignity to homo, and upon which our fashion of life is founded." - CLICK HERE to Read Source Letter

Pope John XXIII, in a private audience with Supreme Knight Hart and other Knights on April 14, 1961, expressed gratitude for the Order'southward efforts to have the words "under God" added to the Pledge. Hart recalled that the pope was delighted to hear that "some xxx 1000000 children, at the beginning of each school day, acknowledged the existence of God and their dependence upon Divine Providence."

Timeline of the Pledge of Allegiance changes from beginning to the current version of today

Past Failed Protestant Attempts of Christianizing American Values

National Reform Association (NRA)- Founded in 1864 by a coalition of Protestant Ministers of eleven denominations, joined together to try to make Jesus Christ & Christianity officially part of our constitution. The NRA'due south pinnacle goal was to add a "Christian nation" amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The ministers were convinced that the Civil War was God'due south vengeance on America for omitting religious linguistic communication from the Constitution, and they sought to rectify that situation. Their solution was to rewrite the Preamble to the Constitution. The group's proposal, put forth that same twelvemonth, was written as, "humbly acknowledging Almighty God as the source of all say-so and power in civil regime, the Lord Jesus Christ equally the Ruler amidst the nations, [and] His revealed will equally the supreme law of the country, in society to constitute a Christian government."

Despite a heavy lobbying campaign, Congress remained skeptical. The House of Representatives rejected the subpoena in 1874 and 1896. Recommending a vote confronting it in 1874, the House Judiciary Committee cited "the dangers which the union between church building and land had imposed upon so many nations of the Onetime World....", which eventually never passed.

In 1954, Senator from Vermont, Protestant Ralph Flemish region introduced a proposal to take Jesus Christ included in our Constitution, just to exist opposed by beau protestant Christians and Jews mentioning the rule of "Separation of Church & State", which eventually later didn't pass.

Sources below:

https://www.stritchassembly.com/PDF/Pledge_Allegiance.pdf

https://world wide web.kofc.org/en/columbia/detail/nether-god.html

https://www.nytimes.com/1964/02/xx/archives/luke-hart-83-supreme-knight-of-knights-of-columbus-is-dead-lawyer.html