Freedom From Religion
Neither the government nor any religion has the authority to impose beliefs on your life.
Where is the line between religion and belief?
Ida Eisenhower raised her son Dwight as a Jehovah’s Witness1 2, though prior to 1931 the name of the religion wasn’t standardized. Jehovah's Witnesses are members of a conservative sect of Christianity that differs from more mainstream denominations in several respects. Other sources identify Eisenhower as being raised under a Mennonite offshoot; the Bergman piece cited below is thorough and will help you determine your own opinion.
Some facts about the Jehovah’s Witness sect relevant to our understanding of Eisenhower:
Jehovah’s Witnesses are conscientious objectors and object to military service.
Jehovah’s Witnesses abstain from political involvement.
Jehovah’s Witnesses are opposed to the flag salute and other patriotic activities.
An additional fact about Ida that is relevant to our discussion: out of line with her religion’s standards, she encouraged her boys to “reach their own conclusions” regarding religion.3
In 1911, Dwight Eisenhower chose to walk to the train station to leave his early life in Abilene, Kansas, and his boyhood religion behind to attend West Point. He would go on to lead the Allied Expeditionary Force to victory in Europe during World War II and became the 34th President of the United States.
In 1957 at President Eisenhower’s second inauguration he said, “Blessed is the nation whose God is Jehovah.”4 In retirement Eisenhower stated that during WWII he sought “God's guidance in making the right decision,” and as President he “never opened a cabinet meeting without a minute of silent prayer.”5
Eisenhower left his boyhood religion but never departed from his belief.
At the first National Prayer Breakfast (then the Presidential Prayer Breakfast) in 1953, President Eisenhower stated, “all free government is firmly founded in a deeply felt religious faith.” In 1954 President Eisenhower changed the verbiage of the Pledge of Allegiance to its current verbiage by adding the words, “under God.”
I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
Again, where is the line between religion and belief?
Let’s look at it through the lens of personal liberty. There are at least a couple opposing views:
Should you have the personal liberty to express your faith belief openly?
Should you have the personal liberty to be free from being required to state the existence of a power in which you do not believe? Should you have the personal liberty of not hearing others state a belief you do not share or even oppose, when you cannot leave the area?
One can have a near-circular argument on the matter.
On one side, belief. America has a national belief. Even our earliest founding document, the Declaration of Independence, states belief in the Creator. The Pledge of Allegiance doesn’t say anything the Declaration of Independence doesn’t already declare. Belief isn’t religion; one can believe and not practice a religion.
Another point on belief: some are strongly opposed to, and openly vocal against, the thought of the Almighty.
On the other side, religion. The same founders who wrote the Declaration of Independence wrote the Constitution. They identified America would have no official religion, and further identified Americans were free to practice any religion of their preference. You are free to believe what you choose regarding the Almighty. Freedom from religion, and freedom of religion.
At some point in the circular argument you realize you’re not getting anywhere talking to yourself.
In the middle of all this are school children, who are in 47 states mandated to recite the Pledge of Allegiance daily. Elementary school students have been arrested for refusing, even though the US Supreme Court ruled in the 1943 case West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette that, “compelling public schoolchildren to salute the flag was unconstitutional.” But an authority figure, such as a teacher, telling students they have to comply is a difficult hurdle for some elementary age students to overcome. I personally know parents who advise their children to just omit the words “under God”, and other students who carry slips of paper exempting them from the requirement for when they have a substitute teacher.
What can we do?
First, we need to interact with each other with grace. In the scenarios above, we aren’t going to all agree, and we will never work out the legislation to please everyone. Americans disagree on many matters. Some of these differences are irreconcilable. We need to remember we all have the right to our own belief, even when we disagree.
Let’s also take a cue from Ida. In President Eisenhower’s younger brother’s account of the day Dwight left for West Point, his brother Milton recounted, “Mother stood there like a stone statue and I stood right by her until Ike was out of sight. Then she came in and went to her room and bawled."6 Ida even hoped Dwight would fail the entrance exam and not be able to attend. When he did not fail to attend, Ida made a graceful choice. The Jehovah's Witness requirement was to kick those who joined the military out of their lives, but Ida refused to shun her son. She remained a lifelong Jehovah's Witness, and kept a lifelong relationship with all of her sons.
Even though we strongly disagree with someone’s choice, we can have a graceful relationship with them.
Second, we need to remember America is a nation of individualism and choice.
We need to give those who would stand and say the pledge, with the guidance of their parents, the choice. They could say the entire pledge, omit the words, “under God”, or refuse to participate in the pledge, without pressure from administrators, teachers, and substitute teachers or others administering the pledge.
This choice could apply to other portions of the pledge. Some might have no problem with the Almighty, but strongly disagree with “liberty and justice for all.” America certainly does not have a spotless record.
We could model our guidance off the State of Alaska’s State Statute 14.03.130 that states, “A school district shall inform all affected persons at the school of their right not to participate in the pledge of allegiance.”
This isn’t a new revelation. For 232 years Americans have been free to choose their belief and whether to state their belief. We are further free from religious requirements; some believe stating existence of the Almighty is religion. We are free to choose to pledge our allegiance to the ideal of the nation, “the republic for which it stands,” or not. As a nation we must continually strive to be the republic we would choose.
Again, we should approach each other with grace, and remember the individualism and choice that makes us all Americans.
May God bless the United States of America.
Bergman, Jerry. Steeped in Religion: President Eisenhower and the Influence of the Jehovah's Witnesses. Kansas History, Volume 21, Number 3, pages 148-167. Autumn 1998. Available upon request at https://kchistory.org/islandora/object/kchistory%3A82749.
Introduction to the Eisenhower Religion Manuscripts. DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY. 200 S.E. 4th Street, Abilene, Kansas 67410. https://www.eisenhowerlibrary.gov/sites/default/files/research/subject-guides/pdf/eisenhower-religion.pdf
Bergman, Jerry. (above) Ibid. p. 163.
Ibid. p. 161.
Gammon, Roland et al. All Believers are Brothers. Doubleday and Company. Garden City, NY. 1969. Pages 3-4.
Bergman, Jerry. (above) p. 160.