Action Alert
Little League Endorsement of "God" Excludes Nontheists and Polytheists
According to the Little League, “Better than any other youth sport activity,
baseball and softball have become the thread that has sewn together a
patchwork of nations and cultures around the world,” yet some of its actions
prove divisive rather than unifying. For instance, the league was founded in
1939, but girls were excluded until 1973.
The Little League pledge itself begins with “I trust in God,” thus
excluding nontheists and polytheists. The recitation of this pledge
specifically inculcates children with a monotheistic message not held by
millions of Americans, amounting to an endorsement of a sectarian religion.
Josh Benaloh, an agnostic of Washington State, decided to pull his son out
of Little League last week because “he believes the pledge has no place in
Little League and amounts to religious discrimination.” The Little League’s
pledge violates the principle of religious neutrality, and it should leave
the teaching of religion where it belongs—with parents and in houses of
worship. As a private institution they may legally exclude, but parents and
grandparents may also protest this continuing discrimination and demand the
League open its doors to all.
Little League has risen to a major place in American culture. It’s “as
American as the hotdog and apple pie” declared Sylvia Pressler, a New Jersey
Civil Rights Division hearing examiner who ruled that the League must accept
girls in 1973. Accordingly, the Little League should embrace all Americans,
both religious and nonreligious, by removing “I trust in God” from its
pledge.
ACTION
Contact Little League International’s Communication Department and urge them
to protect the rights of nontheists and polytheists. (They say they only get
a few complaints on this issue per year. Lets make this year different!)
Little League International
Senior Communications Executive, Lance Van Auken
539 US Route 15 Hwy.
PO Box 3485
Williamsport, PA 17701-0485
Phone: 570.326.1921
Fax: 570.326.1074
E-mail: lvanauken@littleleague.org
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