April 22 – “In God We Trust” Day

nPostednon April 22, 2014

nThisnis “In God We Trust” Day because it was on this date in 1864 thatnan act passed Congress authorizing that the phrase be used on anparticular U.S. coin.

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Didnyou realize that, for almost the entire first century of the existencenof the United States, “In God We Trust” had never been seen on official U.S. seals, letterheads, or money?

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nAndnit wasn’t until 1956—180 years after the beginning of thennation—that “In God We Trust” became the official motto.

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nGivennthat the nation was founded on the idea that there should be nonofficial state religion—and that there should be a separationnbetween religion and government—how did this obvious religiousnreference come to be adopted as the government’s official motto?

nA bit of history…

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Beforen“In God We Trust,” there was Enpluribus unum.nThis Latin phrase means “Out of many, one,” an obvious referencento the fact that 13 different colonies had banded together toncreate one nation. This phrase appears on a banner in the eagle’snbeak on the Seal of the United States, adopted by Congress in 1782,nand the phrase functioned as the new nation’s motto for many years. n

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nHowever,nthere never was a law specifically adopting the phrase as thenofficial motto.

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nActually,nit’s a pretty lovely phrase. These days, it calls to mind the idea ofnthe U.S. as a “melting pot”: out of many peoples, races,nreligions, languages, and ancestries, one nation of Americans. n

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nEnpluribus unumnappeared on U.S. coins starting in 1795 (it appeared even earlier on state coins). n

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nThe competing phrase “In God We Trust” was first suggested at a time when Enpluribus unumnwas failing to describe the country: the nation was being torn in halfnby a bloody Civil War.

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nDuringnsuch a scary time—a time when many wondered if the nation wouldneven survive—many people turned to prayers, appeals to their god (or gods) tonright the wrong, end the violence, fix what was broken. The nSecretary of Treasury, Salmon P. Chase, received multiple lettersnasking that he ask Congress to put something about “the AlmightynGod” on the nation’s coins, and he ended up doing so.

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Thenphrase “In God We Trust” was used on some coins, starting in 1864, not on others,nand disappeared from coins on which it had been previously used forndecades; in other words, the phrase appeared on coins only spottily.nHowever, all U.S. coins struck since 1938 have featured the phrase.

nIsnit constitutional?

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nPeoplenwho don’t believe in a god, and probably people who believe in multiple gods – a group that includes about 10 to 12npercent of Americans, including most Buddhists, many other religiousnand spiritual minorities, agnostics, and atheists – are excluded bynthis motto. Some people point out that they feel left out of the “we”npart of the motto—and feeling left out is not a good feeling. Ofncourse, it’s ridiculous to have the motto “In God Some of Us Trust”n– but at least that would be accurate!

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Becausenthe First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution forbids the governmentneither supporting or hindering religion, this motto, whether on coinsnor elsewhere, really is unconstitutional. Some have argued that thenword “god” and the concept of trusting god is not particularlynreligious; court cases people have brought against the motto have failed, at least in some cases, because the judges ruled that the word “god” doesn’t actuallynrefer to a particular character. It does not, they say, refer to thenGod-of-the-Bible. It’s more as if the word “god” stands in fornconcepts such as a “higher power,” perhaps the Force of StarnWars.nIf that is true, it seems that even the majority of Americans – Americans whonare Christian and who believe in God – are left out of the motto…because most of them would not say thatnthey trust a mysterious, nameless universal Force.

nBasically,nthe motto leaves out millions upon millions of Americans – or itntaints the concept of trusting in God by saying that the phrasendoesn’t really mean “God.” Either way, it’s not constitutional. It should be replaced with thenoriginal phrase, Enpluribus unum,nwhich was chosen by our founding fathers and which is as descriptivenas the nation now as it was then.

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nAlsonon this date:

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