(The Western Journal)
The Supreme Court rejected a case brought by atheists seeking to have the U.S. motto, “In God We Trust,” removed from the nation’s currency on Monday.
Lawyer Michael Newdow — who previously filed legal challenges seeking to block the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance in classrooms and “So help me God” during presidential inaugural oaths — argued the motto represents an unconstitutional establishment of religion.
“By mandating the inscription of facially religious text (i.e. “In God We Trust”) on every coin and currency bill, defendants have turned petitioners — among whom are nine children — into ‘political outsiders’ on the basis of their most fundamental religious tenet,” the activist argued in his brief to the Supreme Court.
Newdow recounted that U.S. currency did not include the inscription for the first 75 years of the country’s existence, but was added during President Abraham Lincoln’s administration in the midst of the Civil War in 1864.
The lawyer cited a report from the Mint Director the previous year, which stated, “We claim to be a Christian nation. Why should we not vindicate our character by honoring the God of Nations, in the exercise of our political Sovereignty as a Nation? Our national coinage should do this. Its legends and devices should declare our trust in God.” Read more
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