"Under God" is religious language that children are being forced by the government to recite

End of story. The tortured "ceremonial deism" argument -- the claim that the phrase "under God" has no meaning except a longstanding, time-honored traditional one -- collapses on many levels. First, it can't deal with the fact that the words "under God" were only added in the 1950s (some longstanding tradition). Second, it ignores the highly relevant point that Americans today simply don't see the these words as mere ceremonial language. Instead, they see them either as an affront (the anti-pledge camp) or as a necessary affirmation of America's Christian values (the pro-pledge camp).

The powerful public outcry over this case itself radically demonstrates that the "under God" language is far from mere window dressing.

The greater the tension and public outcry, the weaker the ceremonial deism argument -- and, therefore, the more unconstitutional the pledge. It's really that simple.

Chris Mooney blogs Erwin Chemerinsky