In God we trust

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The motto can be read on the back of the 1 dollar bill

In God we trust (" In God we trust ") is a motto of the United States , which was added to the Latin saying E pluribus unum ("One out of many") by a declaration of Congress in 1956 .

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The formulation goes back to a line in the American national anthem The Star-Spangled Banner , which says: And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."

The background to this decision was the Cold War and the effort to underline the unity of the American people against the “godless communists ”. The declaration was initiated by the Dixiecrat and member of Congress Charles E. Bennett , a member of the inner leadership circle of the anti-communist Christian fundamentalist network International Christian Leadership (ICL), which strives for a nation governed on a Christian basis and by Christian principles .

Furthermore, In God we trust is the official motto of the US state Florida .

Notwithstanding the controversy surrounding the motto, the motto has been on United States coins since 1864 . With the Coinage Act of 1864, Congress approved the issuance of two-cent coins . The motto was later struck on other coins as well. The US law of July 11, 1955 made the motto mandatory for all coins and paper money.

controversy

God we trust is the subject of controversy in the United States. The 1st Amendment to the United States Constitution protects freedom of religion . The expression of negative religious freedom is the freedom to believe in the non-existence of God. In the opinion of the critics, the reference to God in this slogan represents a violation of this right to negative freedom of belief. Criticism is also expressed from the religious side. President Theodore Roosevelt had already spoken out against printing the name of God on money during his tenure.

In God we trust was the subject of unsuccessful legal proceedings. For the first time the motto was used in the Aronow v. United States attacked in 1970. But the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit found that the use of the slogan was only ceremonial. That decision was later made in the Elk Grove Unified School District v. Newdow quoted. In this process in 2004 the Pledge of Allegiance (oath of loyalty) was criticized. However, the court again spoke of ceremonial deism (literally: ceremonial deism , in terms of content this is a technical term from US legal language and describes a formally religious statement or action, which, however, is understood as a non-religious ritual due to long-term use) and rejected the lawsuit back.

Web links

Commons : In God We Trust  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Sharlet, Jeff: The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power. New York: HarperCollins 2008, p. 199 ISBN 978-0-06-055979-3
  2. ↑ ROOSEVELT DROPPED 'IN GOD WE TRUST'; President Says Such a Motto on Coin Is Irreverence, Close to Sacrilege. NO LAW COMMANDS ITS USE He Trusts Congress Will Not Direct Him to Replace the Exalted Phrase That Invited Constant Levity , The New York Times. November 14, 1907. Retrieved August 26, 2010. 
  3. ↑ Lauren Markoe: Atheists Lose Latest Battle To Remove 'In God We Trust' From US Currency . Religion News Service . May 29, 2014. Retrieved October 9, 2014.
  4. ^ Aronow, 432 F.2d at 243.
  5. ↑ LYNCH v. DONNELLY, 465 US 668 (1984) US Supreme Court