 The debate is not between those who believe in God and those who do not, but it is a dispute on the meaning and place of civil religion in America.Cloud explores political oaths since 1787 and traces the tension between a need for national unity and a desire to affirm religious faith.He reviews major Supreme Court decisions involving the Pledge of Allegiance, including the contradictory "Minersville School District v. Gobitis" (1940) and "West Virginia v. Barnette" (1943) decisions.