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Millions of school children pledge their allegiance every day. But a recent lawsuit has stirred passionate debate between those who see the pledge as a healthy exercise in patriotism and those who say it is forced prayer. The current legal challenge is over the words, 

 and whether public schools can require children to recite them. Does forcing students to pledge their allegiance violate principles of religious freedom or, as one senator argued, is it simply "political correctness run amok?"

Millions of school children pledge their allegiance every day. But a recent lawsuit has stirred passionate debate between those who see the pledge as a healthy exercise in patriotism and those who say it is forced prayer. The current legal challenge is over the words, under God and whether public schools can require children to recite them. Does forcing students to pledge their allegiance violate principles of religious freedom or, as one senator argued, is it simply "political correctness run amok?"


'Under God' under fire

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