Massachusetts' Supreme Court ruled unanimously to keep "Under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance after the atheist group American Humanist Association wanted to remove the "God" reference.

Chief Justice Roderick Ireland issued the following statement after the court universally made its decision to keep the traditional pledge intact.

"Here there is no discriminatory classification for purposes of art. 106 - no differing treatment of any class or classes of students based on their sex, race, color, creed, or national origin. All students are treated alike," wrote Ireland in statement on behalf of the Massachusetts' Supreme Court.

Deputy General Counsel at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty Eric Rassbach spoke to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court on the behalf of keeping the phrase in the pledge, which was originally written by the late Baptist minister Francis Julius Bellamy back in 1892.

"Today the Court affirmed what should have been obvious-'God' is not a dirty word," said Rassbach in a statement. "And it isn't discriminatory either. The words 'under God' are a reminder to our children that government doesn't give us our rights and it can't take them away either. Preserving the Pledge protects the rights of every American."

Rassbach also made a comment regarding the atheist group that argued mentioning God in the pledge violated the rights of atheist students.

"For those who have been attacking the Pledge we would offer this: our system protects their right to remain silent, but it doesn't give them a right to silence others," said Rassbach.

Attorney David Niose spoke on behalf of American Humanist Association and the atheist family who were not pleased with the court's ruling on the issue.

"No child should go to public school every day, from kindergarten to grade 12, and be faced with an exercise that portrays his or her religious group as less patriotic," said Niose.

The Pledge of Allegiance was first adopted by America in 1945 and the famous "Under God" words were added to the patriotic oath in 1954 on Flag Day.