I wonder if the economy should crash (our money is now worth the same as Canadian money for cripes sake — Canadian!!!) will God rescue the dollar as a courtesy for putting His name on it? I mean shouldn’t we get something out of offending the atheists and non-theists and those who believe in multiple gods and those religious people who feel it’s sacrilege to put His name on our grubby, root-of-all-evil money? Perhaps Pat Condell is right that Jesus and God are myths and it doesn’t matter. Anyway, Happy Birthday, four words!
Fifty Years of “In God We Trust”
It’s been 50 years since “In God We Trust” first appeared on U.S. paper currency, and those four little words have proven to be the source of big debate in the courts.
Michael Newdow, the California atheist known for trying to strip “under God” from the Pledge of Allegiance, has asked the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to declare “In God We Trust” an unconstitutional mingling of church and state. In Indiana, the American Civil Liberties Union has gone to district court, arguing that it’s unfair for the state not to charge administrative fees for “In God We Trust” license plates when a plate advocating for the environment carries extra fees.
Why, decades after the words were made the nation’s official motto and printed on our dollar bills, do they still inspire ire?
“A great many Americans are angry … when the government promotes religion and a great many other Americans believe that this is not promoting religion — they’re just representing who we are as a nation,” said Charles Haynes, senior scholar at the Freedom Forum’s First Amendment Center.
Thanks Hop!
Not only is American currency backed by the full faith and credit of the United States government, but we have God himself as the ultimate guarantor of the U.S. Treasury.
And since we’re so superstitious, perhaps the revamping of our health care system will include stringent provisions that forbid you to “step on a crack and break your mother’s back.”
oh brother — even as a die-hard liberal, i gotta say that ‘in god we trust’ is pretty innocuous given how generic it is
atheists like my wife only get bothered when local school boards try to sneak religious teachings into the curriculum on (pardon the expression) the company dime
I’m an atheist, and it never EVER bothered me that it’s on my country’s currency.
“In God We Trust” first appeared in the mid-1860s as a result of a large religious movement across the US. Here’s the wikipedia entry on that: http://tinyurl.com/255669
Frankly, people need to get over themselves.
#2 Grog,
I think you’re missing the point. The government is meant to be run as a company, not as a nanny. The government’s business is to provide its citizens protection from enemies and criminals; to provide a solid trustworthy environment in which to conduct business, and to build roads.
It is the job of the individual to seek their own enlightenment, their own pursuit of happiness, and to let their fellow man exist in peace.
Putting religious slogans on the currency and official oaths puts the government in the awkward role of preacher, a role to which it is ill-suited and ultimately doomed to failure.
I’ve been taking it off my paper money for years. Usually I’ll just scribble the god word out or if I’ll feeling uppity I’ll write in “guns” or “dog”.
I burn that saying off of all of my money.
I don’t see why anyone would want “in god we trust” on anything.
Do religious people really trust god anyway. They still look both ways when they cross the street.
Also, it seems to be inviting so horrible disaster. The god of the bible is a petty ruthless guy. I wouldn’t trust him for a second.
“In God we Trust” does not promote a particular religion, it just reflects the Culture. Whether it be, God, Allah, Jehovah, or the Spaghetti Monster. Like it or not, atheists, Religion is a part of life for the vast majority of Americans, even those that do not run off to church on Sunday. To force off “God” on all items promotes your religion, Atheism, thereby breaking the 1st Amendment. People always quote the first part, but never the second part.
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”
I agree, it was a mistake to put it on, but, it’s also a mistake to take it off now that it’s on.
Who’s authority do you think you are under?
As usual, the defenders of the faith know no more about history than they do about reality. I lived through the battles against the McCarthyite thugs who led Congress by the nose into changing the currency.
Just like today’s “war on terror” hysteria, the cold warriors and their ever-ready religious followers pushed the change through. If you fought back, you weren’t anti-communist enough.
The only “culture” referenced was FUD and cowardice.
As an atheist and antitheist, it has bothered me for a long time that this godvertisement is on our currency. This does promote a particular religion. It promotes the most violent religion in history very specifically. It promotes the Zoroastrian-Judeo-Christian-Islamic religion that has been the source of many of the bloodiest wars in history and continues its bloodshed today.
Further, this godvertisement as well as the one in the pledge are legacies of McCarthyism. Isn’t it time we put that awful era behind us once and for all?
Freedom of religion does and must include the freedom to choose none of the above. If it does not, then it is not freedom. It is most definitely time to remove the violence of Zoroastrianism from our government. If you wish to practice such silly mythology on your own time, that’s your own business.
But, stop inflicting it on me!!
#7 – julieb,
If religious people really trusted in god, they wouldn’t put lighting rods on churches. (Not an original observation on my part. I wish it was. I can’t remember where I heard it though.)
#8 – Angus,
You are so wrong it’s not even funny.
“In God we Trust” does not promote a particular religion, it just reflects the Culture. Whether it be, God, Allah, Jehovah, or the Spaghetti Monster. Like it or not, atheists, Religion is a part of life for the vast majority of Americans, even those that do not run off to church on Sunday. To force off “God” on all items promotes your religion, Atheism, thereby breaking the 1st Amendment. People always quote the first part, but never the second part.
Wrong wrong wrong. Absence of a godvertisement is not a promotion of atheism. If we were to promote atheism, we would need a slogan like “There is no god” on the money.
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”
Yes. Putting god on the money does exactly this. It establishes that the state religion is Zoroastrianism and its derivatives.
I agree, it was a mistake to put it on, but, it’s also a mistake to take it off now that it’s on.
How is acknowledgment of a past mistake a mistake? I think if we can agree it was a mistake then the mistake should be corrected.
#9 – Higghawker,
Who’s authority do you think you are under?
The laws of physics. Taking responsibility for one’s own actions is highly liberating. My life has exactly the meaning I choose to give it. Freedom!! I choose to be moral because our species evolved that way. Altruism has been a huge boon to our species when we’ve chosen to use it. Chimps, Bonobos, Gorillas, and many many other species have learned this too.
The only one I Absolutely trust is my Dog.
>>This does promote a particular religion. It promotes the most violent
>>religion in history very specifically. It promotes the
>>Zoroastrian-Judeo-Christian-Islamic religion that has
>>been the source of many of the bloodiest wars in history
>>and continues its bloodshed today.
It does? Shit! Where does it say that on the money?? I always thought it promoted the life force manifest in nature, as promoted by the Wiccans.
Show me (where it is on) the money!?
I always thought the ‘L’ was missed out.
‘In Gold we trust’
Maybe it should reference bullion rather than gold
‘In bull we trust’
>>I choose to be moral because our species evolved that way.
Weeeeel, now I think you’re taking Chuckie D’s theory a little to far, Scottie.
If our species “evolved” in a way that promotes behavior beneficial to the species, I guess you’d have to say we “evolved” to be religous, eh? After all, religious folks are a lot more common than moral or altruistic ones. Or does the theory break down when it comes to a spiritual belief in a higher power? We’re everywhere!
#14 – MM,
What other religion calls their deity god?
#15 – Jess,
Actually, it used to say gold. Then they removed the gold and added in clod we trust. I keep a 1950 series bill in my wallet for just such an occasion. It says:
THIS NOTE IS LEGAL TENDER FOR ALL DEBTS PUBLIC AND PRIVATE, AND IS REDEEMABLE IN LAWFUL MONEY AT THE UNITED STATES TREASURY, OR AT ANY FEDERAL RESERVE BANK.
The godvertisement was added when we went off the gold standard. “We ran out of gold; god help us now.”
#16 – MM,
Actually, they have already identified two centers in the brain, one that does a quick moral evaluation of right/wrong and another that does more detailed processing for more complicated cases.
They have also studied through some well rigged hypothetical situations that people the world over, including hunter gatherer societies, all have highly similar morals for some basic cases.
They have also been talking about theories to explain why we have both the ability to believe nonsense (my wording, not the scientists) and the predilection for doing so. None of the theories have prevailed over others at this time.
It will be interesting to see whether our faith is a byproduct of some other feature of our brain or actually provides some survival advantage. IMHO, the Zoroastrian derivatives seem to convey a survival advantage by killing off those who do not believe.
Money is not the root of all evil. But, the love of money is…
“The love of money is a root of all kinds of evils.”
1 Timothy 6:10 (English Standard Version)
http://tinyurl.com/3a6uoo
[Please use TinyUrl.com for overly long URLs. – ed.]
>>Actually, they have already identified two centers in the brain
>>They have also studied
>>They have also been talking about theories
Do “they” have any links you could provide, Scottie? And it appears that you’re agreeing with my contention that spirituality (or “Zoroastrian derivatives”, as you mysteriously insist on calling it) has an evolutionary basis, just as your self-proclaimed “morality”. We’re making progress.
>>What other religion calls their deity god?
Wicca. Of course, they have a Goddess too, but I guess they’re more progressive than some faiths. Then you have the Baha’i faith, some forms of Hinduism, Traditional Chinese religion, Shinto, and more others than you can shake a stick at.
Go Darwin! Yer taking good care of us! God truly works in mysterious ways. Maybe someday, Scottie, you will appreciate the mystery. Or maybe more evolution is required.
#21 – MM,
I read most of the brain stuff in a book, The Naked Brain. I’d highly recommend the book. I’ll find a few articles on the subject and post them in another reply. Too many links flags me as spam, I think, though not necessarily on this site.
#21 – MM,
Here are a couple of articles on the moral centers of the brain.
http://tinyurl.com/2yc378
http://tinyurl.com/ybh3mq
#21 – MM,
And here are some on theories of faith. Personally, I don’t have Faith as you know. I think she’s all reamed out anyway. So many people have already had her.
http://tinyurl.com/28ut2d
http://tinyurl.com/3bt6vh
And, BTW, many religions have gods, yes. But, most refer to individual gods by their names, not a single all powerful wack-job in the sky. The money doesn’t say God/Shiva/Odin/Zeus/Buddha/FSM; It just says God.
#21 – MM,
Sorry, I missed a point. The other posts I kept separate to avoid trying to post 5 links in one reply, a clear spam filter trigger. I’m sure you know this one already, but I have to say it anyway for others that may be less educated.
Go Darwin! Yer taking good care of us! God truly works in mysterious ways. Maybe someday, Scottie, you will appreciate the mystery. Or maybe more evolution is required.
Biological evolution, as opposed to cultural evolution, does not take place intra-generation. If you mean to imply that the faith center of my brain is defective and requires fixing on the part of biological evolution, I like it that way. Besides, biological evolution is already at work on me. I am a Darwinian failure. The genes and experiences that make me me have failed to make a genetic copy. I’m a dead end.
And there was much rejoicing (from the religious crowd): yay.
Maybe they should change the phrase on the money to, “In God we trust, everyone else pays cash.”
“In God we trust”
God is a title not a ‘name’. So God’s name is not on our money.
22 – 25 very interesting posts, Scottie. I’m glad to see that after all these millenia, mankind may be scratching the tip of the iceberg as to how God works in his mysterious ways. I don’t see anything in any of those links that is incompatible with my own spiritual beliefs. After all, any higher power has to work his mysteries through the physical world; this is not The Matrix.
Evolution, the neurochemical basis of faith and altruism; it’s wonderful that we’re coming to an understanding of how those miracles are wrought.
However, I’m thinking on a higher plane. And since I don’t bash the Atheists (other than to point out the self-evident fact that their immutable, incontrovertible belief that there is no God is itself a religion, albeit a dark one [if you can call that “bashing”]), I just wish the Atheists would cease and desist with their bashing of me.
There’s something bigger out there than you, Scottie. And the longer you deny it, the emptier your life will be.
As to what religions call their gods, Zoroastrianism calls him Ahura Mazda. Not “god”. So whatever slogan we put on our money (Christ, is that really worth all this Sturm und Drang??), it’s not a reference to Ahura. Hence, it has nothing to do with Zoroastrianism.
#11, #12, #17, #18, #22, #23, #24, and #25
Slow down on that coffee man.
#27 – andrew,
Then why is it capitalized? I don’t typically capitalize computer programmer, doctor, lawyer, etc.
#28 – Mister Condom Mint,
22 – 25 very interesting posts, Scottie. I’m glad to see that after all these millenia, mankind may be scratching the tip of the iceberg as to how God works in his mysterious ways. I don’t see anything in any of those links that is incompatible with my own spiritual beliefs. After all, any higher power has to work his mysteries through the physical world; this is not The Matrix.
I didn’t expect this to contradict your own spirituality., However, I would point out that an evolutionary explanation for a nonsensical belief does not give the nonsense any further credence.
Evolution, the neurochemical basis of faith and altruism; it’s wonderful that we’re coming to an understanding of how those miracles are wrought.
Funny, I’d think that a scientific explanation at least removes the need for a mythological explanation, even if it does not contradict it.
However, I’m thinking on a higher plane. And since I don’t bash the Atheists (other than to point out the self-evident fact that their immutable, incontrovertible belief that there is no God is itself a religion, albeit a dark one [if you can call that “bashing”]), I just wish the Atheists would cease and desist with their bashing of me.
I didn’t think I was bashing religious folk by stating my opinion that belief without proof is nonscientific. I still maintain that Atheism is NOT a religion. I also maintain that I have proven this to you on at least two occasions. So, I’m surprised you keep bringing it up.
Dang spambot got me. I’ll post the links to the two occasions below.
There’s something bigger out there than you, Scottie. And the longer you deny it, the emptier your life will be.
Actually, it’s amazing how liberating I find atheism. I am not a slave to your non-existent deity. I am truly free. Further, my life has exactly as much meaning as I choose to give it. It’s a truly amazing feeling.
As to what religions call their gods, Zoroastrianism calls him Ahura Mazda. Not “god”. So whatever slogan we put on our money (Christ, is that really worth all this Sturm und Drang??), it’s not a reference to Ahura. Hence, it has nothing to do with Zoroastrianism.
OK, you’ve convinced me. Our money specifically advocates Judeo-Christian religion. Since it ignores Allah, Shiva, FSM, and the rest, it truly is a specific advocation of a subset of the Zoroastrian derivatives. Does this not make the godvertisement that much more offensive?
#28 – MM,
Here are the two threads on which you already lost the atheism as a religion argument.
http://www.dvorak.org/blog/?p=13173
http://www.dvorak.org/blog/?p=13180