“In God We Trust” may imply that the government has made an endorsement of religion, or at the very least it may imply an endorsement of a deity.

October 1 is an important day in American history, though it is often overlooked. On this day in 1957, the phrase “In God We Trust” was first seen on American paper currency. By the same act of Congress in 1956 that placed it on money, this phrase also became the nation’s first official motto, though E Pluribus Unum was considered an unofficial one prior to this act.

Why is this important? As a Christian myself, the words don’t bother me. Do I believe that God is watching over America? Yes, but I also believe that he/she/it is watching over other countries as well.

We put our trust in God as individuals. But in 1956, the U.S. government decided to place their trust in God as well, and to make it official by placing it on the currency we use.

To many, this isn’t a controversial issue. But to some, it goes against everything they believe (or don’t believe) in.

“In God We Trust” may imply that the government has made an endorsement of religion, or at the very least it may imply an endorsement of a deity. Though the god to whom it references remains ambiguous, we can be fairly certain that it is the Abrahamic God that Congress meant to put its trust in 50 years ago.

There are many who believe that the official motto should be “In God We Trust” due to religious convictions. Then there are those who don’t care either way, recognizing that they are just words and that no one actually enforces trust in a god that one does not believe in. Those that oppose the words are clearly in the minority, but they make a valid point.

The government established many years ago, through the Bill of Rights, that no god, gods or religious entities could be established as the nation’s preference. The founding fathers felt so strongly about this that they made it the first amendment to the Constitution.

If we were to stick to the letter of the law, applying it equally to all citizens, the motto would have to be removed from coins, the Pledge of Allegiance and all its other government uses. It is unfair to those who believe in no god at all – or even to those who believe that the god being endorsed is a god other than their own – to place the country’s trust in an entity they do not believe in.

Am I being overdramatic? Perhaps. As I said before, the words do no harm to anyone because they are just words. Additionally, they are words that I myself do believe in; I do place my trust in God – the Christian one at that.

But I like to put myself in another person’s shoes from time to time. Doing so in this situation, I could see how atheists, agnostics and even citizens who identify with other gods or goddesses could be upset with the wording on our coinage.

If you’re still not getting it, consider this: what if the government, in 1956, decided to place on all money the phrase “In Allah we Trust”? Ignore the fact that Allah is actually just an Arabic word for God and that Islam’s God is technically the same as Christianity’s God: Wouldn’t you think the Christians in this country would be up in arms over it being used on our money?

In a perfect world, the phrase “In God We Trust” would be removed from all coins and dollars, as well as removed from any other government uses. It may not be harmful, but the placement of such a motto as endorsed by our government is wrong for a country that claims to be religiously neutral.

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