People mention that children would be ridiculed if they leave the class or refuse to say the pledge. I don't see why they should leave or refuse to say it at all. Just don't say the words "One Nation under God". When I was a kid I would say "One Nation" and then "Indivisable...", just leaving out the " under God" part. No one ever knew and I never felt that hearing those words was trying to coerce me to become religious. If you are so weak minded that hearing those words spoken by others is causing you mental distress you have a lot more problems than just the Pledge.