Atheists in Utah feel the Pledge of Allegiance Bill ignores their rights by pressuring public school children to pledge allegiance to a God they do not believe exists.
"The pledge should be unifying and bring everybody together," said Mike Rivers, the Utah director of American Atheists. "It should not specify a personal belief of any particular group. That's very personal and everybody should be allowed to believe as they will without being forced to by a dominant group."
According to a 2001 study conducted by the City University of New York, Utah population included around 57 percent Latter-day Saints and 17 percent atheists.
American Atheists are fighting the bill through letter writing, phone calls and by raising public awareness, Rivers said. If the bill passes into law, he said the group may file a lawsuit.
Rivers said American Atheists would support the bill if the phrase "under God" were removed from the pledge.
Sen. Buttars, the bills sponsor, said he cannot believe anyone would not want kids in public school to know and understand the pledge of their country.
Buttars said he would not try to take the controversial phrase out of the pledge.
"We've allowed the God haters and the value haters and the moral haters in this country to have center stage for so long that they've slipped the whole central moral platform of America off the stage," Buttars said. "We've gone too far. It's time to draw the line and start bringing it back."
Buttars said the United States is indeed one nation under God and he will pass the bill.
"Senator Buttars is going to attempt to get this passed whether it is constitutional or not," Rivers said. "What he is doing is pulling a political move and trying to say godless immoral people are against it so he can rally the religious sector. With his comment that he is going to pass this regardless he is ignoring his constituency. He's putting personal feelings above his oath of office."
Some educators in Utah do not feel that saying the pledge is a question of religion.
"I don't equate the pledge of allegiance with religion," said Kristin Wilson, a facilitator at Joaquin Elementary. "I don't think that the phrase 'one God' builds patriotism. I think the pledge of allegiance does."
Students at Joaquin Elementary say the pledge every morning before class begins. Wilson said the goal of this daily recitation is to build patriotism among the students.