On Flag Day in 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed a bill adding the words “under God” to the Pledge of Allegiance. Those two words, taken from Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, would serve, Eisenhower said, to “reaffirm the transcendence of religious faith in America’s heritage and future” and to “constantly strengthen those spiritual weapons which forever will be our country’s most powerful resource in peace and war.”
But 48 years later, two appeals court judges had second thoughts and decided that this action, which had been applauded by the nation and largely unquestioned since then, is suddenly unconstitutional. Their surprise ruling, impeccably timed to fall between Flag Day and the Fourth of July, and while our nation is at war, touched off a coast-to-coast roar of protest.
No Surprise
It was no surprise for Rev. George Docherty, 91, the Presbyterian minister whose 1954 sermon sparked Congress to revise the pledge. He told the
Washington Times in an interview that American culture has become “so secular and materialistic” that the ruling was no great shock.
He has a point. While the public rightly railed against the 2-1 ruling from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, it only follows a long line of similar decisions that, since 1947, have made America’s public square off-limits to religious expression. And it is consistent with the growing secularism of American society. Not just the Court, but American culture at large has drifted far from our religious heritage in the 50 years since judges first started posting judicial “Keep Out” signs to remove God from schools and public life.
“There is no doubt that our nation today is adrift,” Dr. Kennedy has said. “We are like a ship without a rudder, compass, or even a goal. We do not know where we are going because we have forgotten from whence we have come.”
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While the pledge ruling is one barometer of America’s moral condition, entertainment
standards are another. Take today’s sex-drenched television programming. A recent Kaiser Family Foundation study found that one in every 10 shows on television either depicts or strongly implies sexual intercourse. Erotic banter or behavior—up to and including intercourse—appeared in nearly two-thirds of all shows in the 1999/2000 season. On primetime, the figure jumped to 75 percent.
Sensual Culture
Not just television, but much of American society is awash in sexuality. The cultural tsunami called the Sexual Revolution that raced through our nation in the 1960s has left the family in disarray. The number of couples “shacking up” jumped almost tenfold between 1960 and 1998, while married couples plummeted from almost three-quarters of all households to just over half. Not surprisingly, illegitimacy has rocketed 511 percent since 1960. Nearly one-third of all children are born out of wedlock today.
On TV in August
Throughout August, The Coral Ridge Hour will examine the harsh reality of America’s moral decline when it looks at troubling developments in the courts, the family, Hollywood, the media, education, and the Church. Also, this month we are offering a powerful book from Christian author Jim Nelson Black that profiles the ideas and individuals who helped take America off course in the 20th century.
 Be
sure to watch The Coral Ridge Hour this month for a special series of reports on America’s moral decline. You may request the
book, America Adrift, available for a gift of any amount, by calling 1-888-633-1728.
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