WASHINGTONâ€â€The words "under God" will remain in the Pledge of Allegiance because of a parental custody technicality. According to Reuters, the U.S. Supreme Court avoided the constitutional question raised in atheist Michael Newdow's case against the pledge, and ruled he could not bring the challenge on behalf of his daughter.
The 8-0 ruling stated that the Californian, who is divorced, does not have legal control over his 10-year-old daughter. The decision overturned a U.S. appeals court in California that ruled that reciting the phase was a violation of church-state separation.
The ruling came on Flag Day and the 50th anniversary of the addition of the words "under God" to the pledge.
According to Reuters, both sides expressed disappointment that the Supreme Court avoided the constitutional issue. Three court members  Chief Justice William Rehnquist and Justices Sandra Day O'Connor and Clarence Thomas  said they would uphold the pledge as constitutional.
"Certain ceremonial references to God and religion in our nation are the inevitable consequences of the religious history that gave birth to our founding principles of liberty," O'Connor said.
Newdow, who acted as his own attorney, said he hoped the ruling would at least illuminate what he called grossly unfair U.S. child custody laws.
"I'm fighting this entire system," Newdow told Reuters. "In a couple months I will be in the family courts arguing that this entire system is unconstitutional."
