Question:
A Protestant-dominated homeschool group requires all to pledge allegiance to the Bible, which goes something like this: “I pledge allegiance to the Bible, God’s Holy Word, I will make it a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path and will hide its words in my heart that I might not sin against God.” Is it appropriate for a Catholic to say this pledge?
Answer:
First, Jesus is God’s Word; the Bible is God’s words. The idea of Catholic children reciting this pledge is troubling, as it could confuse them about the Protestant belief in sola scriptura. Catholics do not believe in the doctrine of sola scriptura, the idea that the Bible is our only source of revelation. Instead, Sacred Tradition, Sacred Scripture, and the teaching authority of the Church are the Church’s sources of certainty about everything which has been revealed (Dei Verbum 9).
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