Irving Berlin wrote "God Bless America" in 1918, and, of course, it was well within his rights of free speech to do so. (Sorry--it was a rhetorical question--)

Samuel Francis Smith wrote "America" (My Country 'Tis of Thee) in 1832.

Katharine Lee Bates wrote "America the Beautiful" in 1893.

I don't think that altering the work of deceased persons is the best way to further your cause. Generally, these alterations are seen as parodies, at best, and are laughed at by the majority of the public. Few people ever take them seriously. (Even when one alters them oneself--ask Elton John, who did such an amusing job altering "Candle in the Wind...")

It's always best to compose your own, original songs. Yeah, it takes awhile for them to catch on, maybe, but at least you're not a laughingstock in the meantime. And, in the end, you have your own works to claim!

Still, do you really think you have the right to take all references to God out of all popular music, poetry, etc.? Why is your right bigger than the rights of the people who put it there in the first place? You certainly have the right to control your own input to society, but not everyone's--and certainly not the right to reach backwards and change historical works...

Check out (believe it or not) Lou & Peter Berryman's song "Glorious Prediction" (from their 1998 recording, 'Some Kinda Funny') to get an amusing picture of what happens when everyone thinks that THEIR wishes/wants/needs should come first. Obviously, no ONE THING is the best thing for everybody. And no ONE THING will make everybody happy. God's already been removed from some stuff; He's still in some others--everybody's happy a little and dissatisfied a little. It's called life!

denise:^)