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| | Religious Liberty Archive : Rothgerber Johnson & Lyons LLP, Colorado Springs, CO |
 | | Newdow, the atheist father of a public school student, filed a lawsuit in federal court claiming that his daughter's school-mandated and teacher-led recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance that included the words "under God" violated the Establishment and Free Exercise Clauses of the U.S. Constitution. |
 | | The Ninth Circuit, however, reversed that decision, finding that the father could challenge the public school's practice that interferes with his right to direct the religious education of his daughter and that the "under God" language violated the Establishment Clause. |
 | | For the Chief Justice and Justice O'Connor, the public school policy that requires teachers to lead willing students in reciting the Pledge, which includes the words "under God," does not violate the Establishment Clause. |
| www.churchstatelaw.com /commentaries/elkgrovevnewdow.asp (1031 words) |
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