‘Under God' Pa. Pastor Dies

Pennsylvania pastor who pushed for "under God" in Pledge of Allegiance has died.

ALEXANDRIA, Pa. -- A pastor whose sermon was credited with helping push Congress to insert the words "under God" into the Pledge of Allegiance has died. The Rev. George M. Docherty was 97.

He died on Thanksgiving at his home in the central Pennsylvania town of Alexandria, with his wife, Sue, by his side. That's according to Nancy Taylor, the historian for the Huntingdon Presbyterian Church, which the family attended.

More than 50 years ago, Docherty wrote a sermon saying that the Pledge of Allegiance should acknowledge God.

He first delivered the sermon in 1952 at Washington's New York Avenue Presbyterian Church, just blocks from the White House.

On Feb. 7, 1954, he delivered it again after learning that President Dwight Eisenhower would be there. Congress inserted the words a few months later.

 

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