Why do we say "One nation under God"?

Background:

The original Pledge of Allegiance was composed in 1885 by Captain George Thatcher Balch, a Union Army Officer during the Civil War:

We give our heads and hearts to God and our country; one country, one language, one flag!

Balch was a proponent of teaching children, particularly children of immigrants, loyalty to the United States. He wrote a book on the topic and worked with both the government and private organizations to distribute flags to every classroom and school.

A number of schools adopted Balch's pledge; but Francis Bellamy, a Christian socialist and former Baptist minister, felt it was "too juvenile and lacking in dignity," and published his own version in the September 8, 1892 issue of the children's magazine The Youth's Companion, as part of the National Public-School Celebration of the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the Americas.

I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

In 1923 and 1924, the National Flag Conference changed the wording to:

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Congress adopted the pledge in 1942 but not the "Bellamy salute," extending the right arm toward the flag with hand outstretched, which was deemed too close to the Nazi salute. Instead they decreed that the Pledge should be recited while holding the right hand over the heart.

In 1954, at the height of the Cold War, in response to lobbying by religious groups and fraternal organizations, particularly the Catholic Knights of Columbus, Congress passed a new bill that added the words "under God."

President Eisenhower (who had recently been baptized as a Presbyterian), enthusiastically signed the bill into law saying:

"From this day forward, the millions of our school children will daily proclaim in every city and town, every village and rural school house, the dedication of our nation and our people to the Almighty...In this way we are reaffirming the transcendence of religious faith in America's heritage and future; in this way we shall constantly strengthen those spiritual weapons which forever will be our country's most powerful resource, in peace or in war."

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