In reply to:

Really, PMB, I am disappointed. I didn't expect you to split hairs - you either deny any place in public life to the Eternal One or not.

Splitting hairs?? Ringmir said what I should have said here:

"The reference to "their Creator" in the declaration is an example of extremely well chosen wording. A creator can be someone's parental unit, it can be a god, or a pantheon of gods."

Don't tell me I'm splitting hairs. This is not an all or nothing subject.

As far as the central status of Islam in Middle Eastern countries is concerned, of course I don't equate the inclusion of God in the U.S. with complete non-separation of religion and state in Iran. Religion/faith is completely meaningless unless it is voluntary. The alternative of enforced religion produces robots who understand the words on which the laws are based, but not the message of the text itself.

My desire to strike the existence of "Under God" and "In God We Trust" from pledge and currenty has more to do with them being added with such ridiculous justifications.

And while we're speaking about the pledge, boiled down to its essence it is a pledge of allegiance to the flag and to the USA, nothing else. The Under God part is just a tacked-on prepositional phrase, so I don't feel imposed upon that it's there. That wasn't my objection in the first place.