Newswise — The U.S. Supreme Court preserved the "one nation under God" phrase in the Pledge of Allegiance on Monday by ruling that California atheist Michael Newdow could not challenge the phrase by suing to have the pledge banned at his daughter's school.

Dr. Phillip Muñoz, assistant professor of political science at North Carolina State University, was among the expert witnesses who testified last week before a U.S. Senate subcommittee on religious expression leading up to today's Supreme Court ruling. In his testimony before the Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Property Rights in a hearing titled "Beyond the Pledge of Allegiance: Hostility to Religious Expression in the Public Square," Muñoz said "the U.S. Supreme Court remains primarily responsible for the continued legal hostility toward religious expression in the public square. Stated simply, the Supreme Court has interpreted the Establishment Clause in a manner that encourages and sometimes demands hostility toward religion."

Muñoz is available to discuss issues related to public religious expression, his testimony before the Senate subcommittee, and the Supreme Court ruling in the pledge case.