US Currency has not always contained the motto, "In God We Trust," here is the short history.

In the late 1940s some religionists thought it was about time that the motto was placed on our paper currency to thank the Lord for preserving us through the terrible war that had just ended [ignoring the fact that the German army had the motto "Gott mit Uns" (God with us) inscribed on their belt buckles].

In 1953, one Matthew R. Rothert of Arkansas, president of the Arkansas Numismatic Society, presented the idea of putting "In God We Trust" on all paper money to a meeting of his group. The favorable reaction by his audience prompted him to send a written proposal for such a change to Treasury Secretary Humphrey, but he also sent copies of the correspondence to Commerce Secretary Weeks and to President Eisenhower. This single letter prompted the Eisenhower administration in June 1955 to recommend to Congress a bill (H.R. 619) that would "[provide] for the inscription of 'In God We Trust' on all United States currency and coins."

Introduced into the House, a representative from Florida characterized the object of the bill as, "...in these days when imperialistic and materialistic communism seeks to attack and destroy freedom,..." a way to "...strengthen the foundations of our freedom. At the base of our freedom is our faith in God and the desire of Americans to live by His will and His guidance. As long as this country trusts in God, it will prevail. To serve as a constant reminder of this truth, it is highly desirable that our currency and coins should bear these inspiring words '"In God We Trust.'"

Emboldened by the rapidity with which the Congress embraced the use of the "In God We Trust" motto on paper money, Congressional forces still energized by rampant McCarthyism and anti-Communism thought it the opportune time to make the "In God We Trust" motto the "national motto." Introduced on March 22, 1956, H.R. Res. 396 was quickly approved and signed into law on July 30, 1956 (36 U.S.C. Section 186), thus completing the campaign of the religionists to instill the Christian nation idea into the consciousness of all Americans through the agency of a few individuals who found a way to circumvent the normal safeguards of liberty enshrined in the United States Constitution.
[ Source: http://home.flash.net/~lbartley/au/issues/godtrust.htm ]

[ The American Family Association delivers "In God We Trust" poster to US Congress: http://www.afajournal.org/archives/24050000394.asp ]

Some feel that this statement is a clear violation of church and state.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation, Inc. has sued the federal government to have "In God We Trust" removed from currency and as our national motto.

The motto was put on all paper currency by an Act of Congress in 1955. The phrase was chosen as our national motto by an Act of Congress in 1956. It first appeared on paper currency in 1957.

The Foundation lawsuit was dismissed by a 10th-circuit federal judge on the grounds that "In God We Trust" is not a religious phrase. The Foundation appealed the dismissal.

[ May 1996: In God We Trust Appealed To High Court http://www.ffrf.org/fttoday/may96/igwt.html]

[ June/July 1996: US Supreme Court Turns Down Foundation Appeal http://www.ffrf.org/fttoday/june_july96/igwt.html]

Does the Motto Pass the "Lemon Test" for constitutionality?

The three-pronged Lemon test for constitutionality under the First Amendment was delineated in the majority opinion written by Chief Justice Warren Burger in Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971) as

• "First, the statute must have a secular legislative purpose;
• Second, its principal or primary effect must be one that neither advances nor inhibits religion;
• Finally, the statute must not 'foster an excessive government entanglement with religion.'"

This view was affirmed in, for example, Committee for Public Education and Religious Liberty v. Nyquist (413 U.S. 756, 1973), which declared New York parochial school aid unconstitutional. Recently. several court observers have questioned the usefulness of the Lemon test, and although it has not been formally overruled, many recent establishment clause cases have been decided without referring to it. Nevertheless, it is the opinion of many observers that the laws specifying the national motto and providing for the placement of the motto on currency and coins of the United States clearly fail all three parts of the Lemon test.

The First Amendment to the Constitution reads:

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people to peaceably assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. ..."

Freedom of religion is guaranteed to us twice in our Constitution: the freedom OF religion (to practice as we choose); and the freedom FROM religion.

In the United States, and in our city, any individual has the legal right to practice any conviction as they see fit. It is vitally important that we preserve this freedom, and that we do not establish a government imposed "State Religion" in the United States.

The Constitution instructs us that our government and the citizens of this City are to be protected from the harm of those people who would use their religious belief to hurt other citizens. ALL laws and all of our community efforts and interests should be for the welfare of society - and not directed at the punishment of sins. In our country are evangelists and zealots of many different political, economic and religious persuasions whose fanatical conviction is that all thought is divinely classified into two kinds - that which is their own - and that which is false and dangerous. The radical right has an agenda and all citizens in our free society are at risk from a movement that seeks to promote aggression against innocent people, transform hatred into law, and stealthily seize control of the mechanisms of government.

Wake up, America! This pseudo-religious assault on personal freedom will affect you, your children, your community, and your government if it is not challenged and contained!

"In Germany they came first for the Communists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me, and by that time no one was left to speak up." —Martin Niemoeller (1892-1984)