Pastor Who Helped Put 'Under God' in Pledge of Allegiance Dies

Does God Belong in the Pledge of Allegiance?

The Rev. George M. Docherty, the man responsible for inspiring congress to add the phrase, "under God" into the Pledge of Allegiance, has died at the ripe old age of 97. Pastor Docherty died at his home in central Pennsylvania on Thanksgiving.

In 1952, when George M. Docherty was pastor of the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church in Washington D.C., he gave a sermon in which he argued that the Pledge of Allegiance should acknowledge God. Two years later, on February 7, 1954, Rev. Docherty learned that President Dwight Eisenhower would be attending services at his church. So he decided to give the aforementioned sermon again. At the conclusion of the service, Rev. Docherty had a discussion with Presidnet Eisenhower regarding the relevance of the sermon. You can imagine how delighted he was to discover that President Eisenhower was in full agreement with him.

The very next day, Rep. Charles G. Oakmon (R-Mich) introduced a bill to add "under God" to the Pledge of Allegiance (a companion bill was also introduced in the Senate). Clearly, President Eisenhower was instrumental in getting Rep. Oakmon to introduce the bill. And he did so as a direct result of sitting in the pews of Rev. Docherty's church on that fateful day. President Dwight Eisenhower signed the bill into law on Flag Day that same year.

Does the phrase "under God" violate the first amendment's separation of church and state?