Atheist Group Starts Campaign To Remove 'God' From 'Pledge of Allegiance'
A national atheist organization has started a new campaign encouraging followers to refuse to say the Pledge of Allegiance until the phrase "One Nation, Under God" is removed.
The American Humanist Association has been promoting its new campaign, entitled "Don't Say The Pledge" through social media and YouTube, as well as bus advertisements posted in Washington, D.C. and New York City. The purpose of the campaign is to have the reference to "God," a decades-old American tradition, removed from the Pledge of Allegiance.
"Until the Pledge is restored to its inclusive version, we can take it upon ourselves to refuse to participate in what's become a discriminatory exercise," the website dedicated to the campaign reads. "Stand up for America by sitting down during the Pledge of Allegiance until the inclusive version is restored."
"We want everyone to know that the current wording of the pledge discriminates against atheists and others who are good without a god, and we want them to stand up for fairness by sitting down until the pledge is restored to its original, unifying form," Roy Speckhardt, executive director of the American Humanist Association, told The Washington Times.
This recent campaign comes after the American Humanist Association demanded Winter Garden City in Florida apologize after city commissioners kicked an atheist out of their weekly meeting when he refused to say the Pledge due to its God reference.
Winter Garden City Mayor John Rees demanded that the atheist, who remains anonymous, either say the Pledge to show respect to U.S. troops or leave the city commissioner meeting. The atheist was then escorted out of the meeting by a local police officer.
