The US Pledge, the EU constitution and King Baudouin

The US Supreme Court has ruled on a technicality that Americans can recite the pledge of allegiance, including the phrase "under God." But because the court did not address the merits of the case itself, new challenges are likely to arise. Thus far no one has addressed the merits of having a pledge at all. Canada does quite well without one.

Meanwhile the latest draft of the Constitutional Treaty of the European Union still makes no mention of God or Christianity, much to the irritation of Poland, Italy and five other member states. However, Belgium and France approve.

These days Belgium takes its seculiarizing cues from its much larger neighbour to the south. However, the late King Baudouin of Belgium was himself a devout man. In 1990, when the two chambers of the Belgian parliament had voted in favour of a law to liberalize abortion, the King's conscience would not allow him to approve the legislation. Rather than touch off a constitutional crisis, Baudouin (or Boudewijn in Dutch) abdicated for a day, returning to power only after the Council of Ministers had approved the law in his absence. Europe needs more of his kind.