Pledge Definition

Romney refers to the Oath of Office, which would be his “highest promise to God”, and although his God may not be the same as the god(s) of his constituents, it does not matter because he will serve “no one religion, no one group, no one cause, and no one interest” since it is the job of the president to serve “only the common cause of the United States” (Romney). Jefferson mentioned in “A Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom” that people who forced their religion on others, or used their religion for immoral reasons were “sinful and tyrannical” (Jefferson 337). Jefferson was probably referring to Puritans along with entire countries that require everyone to attend church or donate to the church even if they are not religious or have a
Romney believes the phrase should remain, because it refers to a time in American history where religion was very important, and most people were religious. Furthermore “under God” denotes any God, which goes back to the concept of religious freedom with Thomas Jefferson. It also demonstrates the strength of religion as an American value. Since the Pledge is about the American Flag, it must reflect all of America and its foundations; America was founded on the basis of religion so there’s nothing wrong with mentioning God in the Pledge of Allegiance. Romney feels similarly about the debate over removing God from American money. Romney expressed his feelings about these debates with the quote; “We should acknowledge the Creator as did our Founders – in ceremony and word. He should remain our – on our currency, in our Pledge, in the teaching of our history” (Romney). The debate about “under God” and the wording of the Pledge ties into the overarching concept of what it means to be an
He should have been clearer about the traditional aspects of his faith in relation to his potential presidency; I think that’s what he was trying to accomplish with this speech but it was not as successful as he had hoped. If he had more clearly articulated the value of religion to the Founders and how that was a huge factor in establishing America and therefore an aspect of America that should be continued, there would be less of a feeling of religious coercion. Although Romney made it very clear that religion is important to him, and the ability for him, as well as every American, to freely practice any religion they so choose, is something that makes him honored to be American, he should have focused more on his core values and what he would do as president other than keeping his religion out of politics. On the other hand, “Faith in America” was a good argument in favor of religious