Overuse of national motto raises questions, cheapens religion

By K. Hollyn Hollman

Church-State Intersection
April 3, 2002

Last year the Mississippi Legislature passed a law requiring the posting of "In God We Trust" in all public school classrooms, cafeterias and auditoriums. Encouraged by the Tupelo-based American Family Association, Mississippi became the first state to implement such a broad effort promoting the statement.

In February of this year, the Virginia Legislature approved a similar bill. The Virginia bill, which has not been signed by the governor, would require all school boards in the state to post "In God We Trust" in a conspicuous place in each of their schools.

These efforts may not amount to a legislative trend, but this slogan does seem to be enjoying a surge in popularity. Indeed, among symbolic gestures proposed by legislatures in recent months, several involve posting "In God We Trust."

Whether motivated by a desire "to instill a standard of patriotism and morality" as one Virginia legislator stated or by a misguided mission "to get God back in the classroom," these recent efforts raise important questions. It is a good time to revisit the motto's historical basis, its constitutionality and where it fits into debates about church-state separation.

Despite claims of the motto's historical importance in America, the establishment of the phrase as the national motto dates only to the mid-1950s. There is no trace of such a religious statement in the Constitution or the Bill of Rights. Indeed, the word "religious" appears in the Constitution only once — to disallow a religious test for public office. And the religion clauses of the First Amendment guarantee that the government will not endorse religion.

Those who want to promote history should consider the nation's original motto, E Pluribus Unum. Meaning "one from many," it appears on the Great Seal of the United States and on our coins and currency. It was used as early as 1795.

Whatever its history, what about the constitutionality of "In God We Trust"? Despite its clear religious statement, the national motto and its use in some contexts have been upheld by federal courts. The Supreme Court has never ruled on the motto directly, but it has accepted certain references to a belief in God found in our public life.

Some government acknowledgments of religion, justices have noted, are too ubiquitous and benign to be perceived as a government endorsement of religion. As Justice William Brennan, himself a strict separationist, once noted, such references can best be understood as a form of "ceremonial deism" that passes constitutional scrutiny "chiefly because they have lost through rote repetition any significant content."

Acceptance in some government buildings or on currency, however, does not mean that the door is wide open for posting the motto in public schools. The court properly distinguishes between government acknowledgement of religion in courthouses or legislative chambers as opposed to those in public school classrooms, where the audience is captive and more impressionable.

Constitutional questions aside, the court's treatment of the motto as a secular statement highlights an important theological reason against government posting the motto and other religious statements in public places. Over time, even an explicitly religious statement may be so devalued as to lose its intended meaning.

There are many reasons to oppose government's expanded use of "In God We Trust." But legal challenges to the motto may be difficult to win given existing court rulings. Moreover, public support for the national motto tends to crest during times of crisis, such as during the Cold War and the current war on terrorism. Nevertheless, we should remain skeptical of attempts by politicians to capitalize on patriotic sentiments to promote a majoritiarian view of religion. Such attempts cheapen religion and undermine respect for religious liberty.