A ruling to strike out the phrase “under God” in classroom recitations of the pledge on equal rights grounds “would represent a major break with federal law,” said attorney Eric Rassbach, who is representing a family that would like to have their child continue to say the pledge every day without any changes to the wording.

The deputy counsel of the Washington, D.C.-based Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, Rassbach described himself as a Presbyterian, and said he doesn’t remember saying the pledge in middle or high school. The Becket Fund has represented members of many other religious groups in the past, as well as atheists, he said.

“Nobody has to say the words ‘under God,’ or the pledge at all,” said Rassbach. “That’s an extremely important thing that most people don’t realize. You can’t compel people to say the pledge, and if someone was compelled to say the pledge, I’d be on the other side of the case.”