The ruling, if allowed to stand, means schoolchildren can no longer recite the pledge, at least in the nine Western states, including Hawai'i, covered by the court.

In a 2-1 decision, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the phrase amounts to a government endorsement of religion in violation of the Constitution's Establishment Clause, which requires a separation of church and state.

The 9th Circuit covers Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawai'i, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon and Washington state. Those are the only states directly affected by the ruling.

In Hawai'i, Department of Education spokesman Greg Knudsen said that the Pledge of Allegiance is regularly recited in public schools.

"The decision has made some interesting implications," Knudsen said. "We feel it best to not rush a judgement about what we're going to do, but it's definitely something that cannot be ignored."

Knudsen said the Department of Education will make a decision later this summer because public schools are out of session.

"A profession that we are a nation 'under God' is identical, for Establishment Clause purposes, to a profession that we are a nation 'under Jesus,' a nation 'under Vishnu,' a nation 'under Zeus,' or a nation 'under no god,' because none of these professions can be neutral with respect to religion," Judge Alfred T. Goodwin wrote for the three-judge panel.

The government had argued that the religious content of "one nation under God" is minimal.

But the appeals court said that an atheist or a holder of certain non-Judeo-Christian beliefs could see it as an endorsement of monotheism. "We are certainly considering seeking further review in the matter," Justice Department lawyer Robert Loeb said.

The ruling does not take effect for several months, to allow further appeals. The government can ask the court to reconsider, or take its case to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The case was brought by Michael A. Newdow, a Sacramento atheist who objected because his second-grade daughter was required to recite the pledge at the Elk Grove school district. A federal judge had dismissed his lawsuit.

The appeals court said that when President Eisenhower signed the legislation inserting "under God" after the words "one nation," he wrote that "millions of our schoolchildren will daily proclaim in every city and town, every village and rural schoolhouse, the dedication of our nation and our people to the Almighty."

The court noted that the U.S. Supreme Court has said students cannot hold religious invocations at graduations and cannot be compelled to recite the pledge. But when the pledge is recited in a classroom, a student who objects is confronted with an "unacceptable choice between participating and protesting," the appeals court said.