Pledge recitations in Virginia schools upheld by court.Recitation rec·i·ta·tion n. 1. a. The act of reciting memorized materials in a public performance. b. The material so presented. 2. a. Oral delivery of prepared lessons by a pupil. b. of the Pledge of Allegiance Pledge of Allegiance, in full, Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, oath that proclaims loyalty to the United States. and its national symbol. in public schools has won approval from a federal appellate court A court having jurisdiction to review decisions of a trial-level or other lower court. An unsuccessful party in a lawsuit must file an appeal with an appellate court in order to have the decision reviewed. . On Aug. 10, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against a Virginia parent who objected to the phrase "one nation under God" in the Pledge. A three-judge panel held that recitation of the Pledge is constitutional because it is a patriotic ritual, not a religious one. "Undoubtedly," wrote Judge Karen Williams in the Myers v. Loudoun County Schools decision, "the Pledge contains a religious phrase, and it is demeaning de·mean 1 tr.v. de·meaned, de·mean·ing, de·means To conduct or behave (oneself) in a particular manner: demeaned themselves well in class. to persons of any faith to assert that the words 'under God' contain no religious significance. The inclusion of those two words, however, does not alter the nature of the Pledge as a patriotic activity." Edward Myers, a Sterling, Va., man, objected to school use of the Pledge on religious grounds. The father of three said the Loudoun County schools were effectively indoctrinating his children in a "God and country" worldview world·view n. In both senses also called Weltanschauung. 1. The overall perspective from which one sees and interprets the world. 2. A collection of beliefs about life and the universe held by an individual or a group. that violates his Mennonite faith. "The combination of God and country approaches a civic religion that is in competition with my religion," he said. |
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