WASHINGTON  The U.S. Supreme Court, minus one of it's most conservative justices, agreed to decide whether it's unconstitutional for children in public schools to recite the pledge allegiance because it contains the words "under God."
The Associated Press reported the high court will hear arguments sometime next year in the case that both sides of the so-called church-state divide predict will be one of the most significant and wrenching rulings in the court's modern history.
The court was asked to rule after the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco agreed last year with Michael Newdow, a California atheist who objected to his 9-year-old daughter having to hear the pledge daily in school.
Democrats and Republicans in Congress criticized the decision and quickly passed a law affirming references to God in the pledge and the national motto, "In God We Trust."
Newdow, a doctor and lawyer representing himself in the case, was pleased the court agreed to hear the appeal.
"As a father, it's important that my child should be able to choose which religious beliefs are most appropriate without the government weighing in," he said.
Hopes for a reversal of the ruling suffered a blow, however, when Associate Justice Antonin Scalia, often considered the high court's most conservative member, recused himself without explanation. His absence increases the possibility the court could be split 4-4, which would result in the Ninth Circuit opinion surviving.
Proponents of religious liberty are pleased the court has decided to hear the case.
"This case represents an important opportunity to put a halt to a national effort aimed at removing any religious phrase or reference from our culture," said Jay Sekulow, chief counsel of the American Center for Law and Justice.
