God Bless America. An iconic song of our nation, often sung at baseball games, played on fourth of july, and recognized across the country. But why do we sing this song? In public schools, we must separate church and state, by law, so why can we mix church and country no problem? In the melting pot that America is, there is everyone on the religious spectrum, from orthodox to nonexistent participation. Some people believe in one god, some in many and others in none at all. Yet, we all recognize this song as patriotic, not religious by any means.
Also, every president since Nixon has concluded his speech with this phrase "God Bless America". Now, if a president were to not utter these words, they would be cast off as unpatriotic. It has become such a common phrase, that the use of the word "god" doesn't always cross people's minds. But when really thought about, what message is America sending to its people and also what message are we sending to other nations? We are not a religiously bound nation, so it doesn't really make sense to say "God Bless America" unless this was a known, universal belief in the USA.
