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The criticism of the Pledge of Allegiance of the United States exists on several grounds. Its use in public schools has been the most controversial, as critics contend that a government-sanctioned endorsement of religion violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Critics feel that the pledge is incompatible with democracy and freedom, and suggest that pledges of allegiance are features of totalitarian states like Nazi Germany. == Objections on the grounds of religion == Even before the addition of the phrase "under God" in 1954, legal challenges were frequently founded on the basis of freedom of religion. Central to early challenges were Jehovah's Witnesses, a group whose beliefs preclude swearing loyalty to any power lesser than God. In the 1940 Supreme Court case ''Minersville School District vs. Gobitis'', an 8-1 majority in the Court held that a school district's interest in promoting national unity permitted it to require Witness students to recite the Pledge along with their class mates. ''Gobitis'' was an unpopular decision in the press, and it led to a rash of mob violence and intimidation against Jehovah's Witnesses; three years later in ''West Virginia State Board of Education vs. Barnette,'' the Court reversed itself, voting 6-3 to ''forbid'' a school from requiring the Pledge. As a result, since 1943 public schools have been disallowed from punishing students for not reciting the Pledge. Nonetheless, it remains taught to and expected of school children in many schools, as the Court leaves many details in such matters up to respective state governments. More specific objections have been raised since the addition of the phrase "under God" to the Pledge. The year of its addition, 1954, was also near the beginning of the Cold War anti-communist movement in the United States. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Criticism of the Pledge of Allegiance」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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