The Massachusetts Supreme Court has ruled that those who have been challenging the Pledge of Allegiance on the basis that the phrase “under God” means the government is endorsing Christianity have no basis.

The Supreme Judicial Court said that the words “under God” reflect a patriotic practice and not a religious one.

“We hold that the recitation of the pledge, which is entirely voluntary, violates neither the Constitution nor the statute,” Chief Justice Roderick Ireland wrote, later adding “it is not a litmus test for defining who is or is not patriotic.  Although the words “under God” undeniably have a religious tinge, courts that have considered the history of the pledge and the presence of those words have consistently concluded that the pledge, notwithstanding its reference to God, is a fundamentally patriotic exercise, not a religious one.”

The lawsuit was brought by lawyers representing a pair of atheist adults who said their children were being illegally subjected to religion because of the phrase “under God.”

“We likewise reject the plaintiffs’ contention that, when some children choose to exercise their constitutionally protected right not to say the words “under God,” there is necessarily conveyed a message that the children are “unpatriotic.”” Justice Barbara Lenk wrote in Friday’s ruling.