This is a big deal. People in this country are almost as serious about their religion as they are about their sports teams.

Which brings us to the debate that started in a local grade school and now is on its way to the county’s highest court. Are we truly “One nation under God,” as the pledge of allegiance currently proclaims?

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is standing by its decision that those words are unconstitutional, and the Elk Grove School district will appeal to the Supreme Court. If the Court agrees with the previous rulings, the phrase “under God” will be stricken from the pledge.

And if you happen not to practice a religion?

I met up with a long-lost acquaintance recently, but my excitement over the meeting quickly dissolved when he asked me to go to church and, upon my refusal, insisted we discuss it as though it was a serious problem in need of immediate repair. Why in a society that values freedom of religion, are people so critical of someone who has no “faith”?

People talk about you like you have a terminal illness: “Oh, that’s bad, how long since you’ve been to church?”

Yeah it’s terminal all right, the concept of not accepting doctrines that I don’t understand and therefore don’t believe in. And heaven forbid you have logical reasons for that choice!

I thought about my friend’s reaction and realized that he’s definitely in the majority. Our culture is steeped in religious symbolism. I may claim freedom from any religion, but it affects nearly every aspect of my life.

Sunday is a perfect example. It’s a holy day, a day of rest in many religions – and America goes part time on that day. Most businesses are closed or have special shopping hours, and don’t even think of trying to find a bank open on a Sunday. Printed on our money, for the entire world to see, are the words “In God we trust.”

What I want to know is, whose God? Who decides that?

The biggest holiday in this nation is centered on religious practices. I never went to church as a kid, but we celebrated Easter and Christmas every year (though in tribute to my father’s Jewish background we omitted the angel from our tree.)

And then there’s there are the people canvassing the neighborhood on bikes recruiting for their churches. It probably sounded like a good idea in a church meeting or on paper, but in practice, it’s annoying. No one likes being interrupted in the middle of dinner.

The First Amendment says the government cannot force a religion on you. But our Pledge of Allegiance requires anyone who wants to show their support for this country to also accept that they are aligned with the Greater Power Himself, (Herself?). It’s an unconstitutional government sanction of religion, the reason it’s going to the Supreme Court.

Our culture says that remaining unaffiliated is unacceptable. Religion and spirituality are very personal matters. Lacking faith in a deity is not a social ill that must be fought like the war on drugs. It is a choice, a belief, an understanding.

My old friend and his wife went out to coffee with me during our visit. My husband didn’t come with us. Upon hearing that my husband and I don’t go out together all the time, his wife suggested that my marriage was in peril and told me I should find Jesus.

It’s comforting to know that my friends have all the “answers.”

I almost asked them how they thought the Supreme Court should rule in the Elk Grove case. But I didn’t know if they’d be comfortable talking about politics.

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