In Everson v. Board of Education (1947), the Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision written by Justice Black, held:

The ‘establishment of religion’ clause of the First Amendment means at least this:

• Neither the state nor the Federal Government can set up a church.
• Neither can pass laws which aid one religion, aid all religions, or prefer one religion over another.
• Neither can force nor influence a person to go to or to remain away from church against his will or force him to profess a belief or disbelief in any religion.
• No person can be punished for entertaining or professing religious beliefs or disbeliefs, for church attendance or non attendance.
• No tax in any amount, large or small, can be levied to support any religious activities or institutions, whatever they may be called, or whatever form they may adopt to teach or practice religion.
• Neither state nor Federal Government can, openly or secretly, participate in the affairs or any religious organizations or groups and vice versa.

In the words of Jefferson, the clause against the establishment of religion by law was intended to erect “a wall of separation between church and State.

For a very long time there has been much controversy and debating about the constitutionality of the national motto “In God We Trust” and the phrase “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance. Are they a breech of the separation of Church and State and the clause against the establishment of religion put forth by Thomas Jefferson? This dilemma may never be settled because of the many different interpretations of Jefferson’s words and their meaning.

The following is my interpretation of how these phrases came to be. It should shed light on whether or not these terms are of religious intent and prefer one religion over all others. The Supreme Court has most often ruled that this not the case.

On July 4, 1776 congress appointed Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin and John Adams to prepare a design for the Great Seal of the United States. In August their first design was submitted to Congress with the motto “E Pluribus Unum,” which means out of many, one. The design was rejected (not the motto), as were five other designs over the next five years.

In 1782 Congress asked Mr. Charles Thomson, the Secretary of Congress, to complete the project. He and his friend Mr. Barton produced a design of an eagle with a heart-shaped shield, holding arrows and an olive branch in its claws. The motto “E Pluribus Unum” was on the scroll held in the eagle’s beak. The design has been modified slightly in that the shield is not heart shaped and there are thirteen stars for the thirteen colonies over the eagles head. This motto was never made into a law but was considered the de facto motto of the United States for 174 years, until 1956. The motto was used on some federal coins beginning in 1795.

In 1812 our young nation, still struggling after the Revolution, found itself at war once again. In 1814 prisoner of war Francis Scott Key wrote The Star Spangled Banner during a very difficult time. His song, as we all know, eventually became our national anthem. The final stanza initially read:

And this be our motto,’In God is our trust.’
And the Star Spangled Banner in triumph shall wave
O’re the land of the free and the home of the brave.

Many believe this is where the idea for the present US motto came from. This seems to be the first usage of such a phrase but was not applied to anything pertaining to the government until 1864. It has never been used by Jews or Muslims or any other monotheistic or polytheistic religion with the exception of Christianity.

At the beginning of the Civil War in 1861, a group of Protestants started a campaign to add references to God to the U.S. Constitution and other federal documents, an process that continues to this day. The Reverend M.R. Watkinson, a Baptist minister,  wrote a letter to the Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P. Chase promoting the concept. It wasn’t until 1863 that Mr. Chase asked James Pollock, the Director of the Mint, to come up with a suitable motto for Union coins. After considering several different wordings, he picked “In God We Trust” and Congress passed the legislation in 1864. It took another Act of congress to have the motto placed on other U.S. coins between 1886 and 1916. “In God We Trust” has been in continuous use on the one-cent coin since 1909 and on the ten-cent coin since 1916. It has also appeared on all gold coins and silver dollar coins, half-dollar coins, and quarter-dollar coins since 1908. But at that point it was still not on paper currency.

Another 40 years passed.

On July 20, 1956  the 84th Congress passed a law, approved by President Dwight Eisenhower, declaring “In God We Trust” the national motto of the United States, usurping the de facto “E Pluribus Unum.” It was first used on paper money in 1957 and was on all money by 1966.

This law was, in part, due to the state of our nation. The McCarthy communist witch hunt was rampant; it was the height of the Cold War. People were fearful and distrustful. This atmosphere was ripe for religious fervor to thrive. Paramount on the minds of many was having God on our side to fight the godless communists. The phrase “under God” was added to the Pledge of Allegiance during this same period, authorized by the President.

What interests me is those who insist the motto and phrase are not religious and do not promote one particular religion. Yet it is the religious and those of the Christian faith in particular who were responsible for, and the most vocal about, adding the terms to our currency and pledge. Christian believers today are lobbying to have “In God We Trust” inscribed on federal and state buildings and state license plates, etc.

What would these people of Christian faith, most of whom also proclaim allegiance to the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to our Constitution, do if the Muslim community insisted that we have “In Allah We Trust” added to the currency and other prominent places? Allah and God are separate deities worshiped by two different religious groups in America where freedom of religion is protected. Would Muslims have the right to lobby for this? How would Christians respond to this?

What about Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, and other religious minorities? And atheist agnostics, secular humanists who reside in America? Could they lobby for their own phrases, according to their beliefs or nonbeliefs, to be included on currency and elsewhere? Wouldn’t that be fair?

What mottos might these groups want included on our currency and government buildings? “In God We Trust, But Not In Jesus”, “In Braham, Vishnu, and Shiva We Trust”, “In The Buddha And Inner Peace We Trust”, and “In Reason, Secularism And Enlightenment We Trust?” The list could go on. Who do you think would be in opposition to any and all of these additions?

“In God We Trust” and “under God” are Christian in origin and represent only one religious faith. While Christianity is the religion of the majority of Americans, this does not mean Christians have cornered the market on God, faith, and belief. Nor do they have the right to silence the voices of other believers or nonbelievers in opposition to these phrases by insisting that the majority rules and that the motto and phrase are neutral, patriotic and inclusive. Plainly, they are not.

A better idea might be to consider reinstating the original motto of Jefferson, Adams and Franklin;  E Pluribus Unum - Out Of Many, One.

(to be continued in Part 2)

Related Posts:

1. In God We Trust? – Part 2

Tags | church and state, education, government