By Ryan Haedge
Can a Christian recite the Pledge of Allegiance?
Along with so many others in the public school system in America, I clearly remember the school bell ringing and the teacher asking the class to stand for the pledge. We all faced the flag of the United States of America, placed our right hand over our heart and in unison recited the following words with pride:
“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.”
For a short period of my youth, I was also a Boy Scout, and in addition to the Pledge, we had another oath that we had to memorize and recite as part of being in the Boy Scouts. The Boy Scout Oath goes like this:
“On my honor I will do my best to do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout law; to help other people at all times; to keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight.”
So does reciting the Pledge or the Boy Scout Oath conflict with Christianity? This is an important question! After all, I am a Christian first and I certainly do not want to commit myself to something that is contrary or in conflict with my Christian faith.
I conducted a quick search on the Internet to see what others have said on the matter. It seemed that the first several hits I received were articles condemning the idea of a Christian reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. I noticed there were 2 primary objections where some argued that Scripture strictly prohibited reciting the Pledge:
- Jesus says we should take no oaths at all (Matthew 5:33-37; James 5:12)
- We are told that we cannot serve two masters (Matthew 6:24)
Let’s address the first objection. In Matthew 5:33-37 we find this teaching from Christ:
Again, you have heard that the ancients were told, “You shall not make false vows, but shall fulfill your vows to the Lord.” But I say to you, make no oath at all, either by Heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is the footstool of His feet, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Nor shall you make an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. But let your statement be, “Yes, yes” or “No, no”; anything beyond these is of evil (NASB).
Those who use this Scripture to say that we cannot recite the Pledge of Allegiance would take this Scripture to mean that we cannot take any oath at all in its literal wording. However, let’s look at the context of what Jesus is saying. He is making clear reference to people swearing by another source to validate that which they are saying is the truth. Jesus is simply making the point that it does no good for anyone to swear by Heaven or Earth or anything else since we have no control over any of them. This is why he says, “…for you cannot make one hair white or black.” The context is with regard to telling the truth. A Christian should not be swearing on God’s name or on “their mother’s grave” as we often hear. This may be familiar to us when we are asked if we took the last cookie from the cookie jar and we respond, “I didn’t take it! I swear on the Bible, I didn’t take it!” We have all said something similar, and we all probably were guilty of taking the last cookie, which is why we wanted to be so convincing by bringing the Bible into our defense.
This is exactly what Jesus was warning against! “Let your statement be, ‘Yes, yes’ or ‘No, no.’” Think about it––if you need to make an oath on something else, that would inherently suggest that your word alone is not sufficient.
If we were to take the statement “make no oath at all” as to literally mean we cannot make any pledge, oath, or promise at all, then as Christians, we would be directly violating Jesus’ teaching every time we sign a check, or even when we place our signature on a credit card purchase. Every time we submit our taxes to the IRS, we make an oath that the information is accurate to the best of our knowledge. Think about it––almost every time our signature is required, there is some legal verbiage that in some form or another is asking us to pledge or promise something.
It would be impossible, practically speaking, for a Christian to live in this country without taking an oath in some form or another.
And consider those of us who are married, those of us who gave a public vow to our spouse. A vow is really no different than a pledge or an oath. They are all one and the same. Does it violate God’s law to make a vow to our spouses that we will honor them the rest of our lives?
The Pledge of Allegiance is just one way in which we declare that we stand with the values and principles of the United States of America. It is true that we are a country that is not perfect! We are a republic that has its share of mistakes! Sure this union of fifty states has many scars and sins in its short history, but we are also a country that has from its very beginning sought to incorporate the teachings of the Bible and provide man the freedom to choose his own way in life.
In contrast to this, history tells us during the Roman Empire Caesar would require its citizens to take an oath and declare that “Caesar is Lord.” Now this is clearly a violation of God’s Word because it is a lie! Caesar is not Lord! The Pledge of Allegiance does not declare any kind of lie (unless the person stating it didn’t mean it), it simple declares that I as a citizen believe in what this Republic stands for––that we are one nation; that we are not above or even equal with God, but rather under God; and that it is our purpose to provide liberty and justice for all.
Now let’s address the second objection. One writer based his argument on Matthew 6:24 where Jesus tells us we cannot serve two masters when discussing the dangers of storing up your treasures on earth. The writer then concluded that we cannot recite the Pledge of Allegiance because we cannot declare our allegiance to more than one thing, and that one thing should be Christ alone. While it is certainly true we cannot serve 2 masters, does this apply to the context of reciting the Pledge?
Once again, may I introduce my spouse whom I swore my allegiance to when we were united in marriage? Now, it is true that I did not swear my allegiance to her as though she is my savior. My pledge to my wife is only on the level of one spouse to another promising that I will remain faithful to her and her to me. Likewise, when I was hired by my employer, I had to sign a pledge to uphold the values set forth by the company. I can assure you that I do not look to either my wife or my employer for the salvation of my soul. Nevertheless, I still made a pledge to them, and yet I remain committed to Christ the Lord first and foremost.
Stating the Pledge of Allegiance, the Boy Scout Oath, or a wedding vow does not negate my commitment to Christ. Rather, my commitment to my country, the Boy Scouts, my wife, and my employer are all upon the condition that they do not seek to interfere directly with the teachings of Jesus. For example, if my employer asked me to pledge to steal money from our customers, this would preclude me from making such a pledge, as it is a clear and direct violation of being a Christian.
The point is…I am a Christian first and foremost, and as long as I am not violating any teachings of Christ, as long as I am not serving another master of my soul, I have no hesitation when making a pledge to this country, the Boy Scouts, my employer, or to my wife.
So do I pledge allegiance to the United States of America? Well, as long as we remain a country with God as our foundation…then yes, I do!
