According to an article in The Times of Munster, Ind., a man sued the state for selling license plates with “In God We Trust” inscribed on it, without having the $15 extra charge for a specialty plate. The man claimed that this preference religion by doing this. The state argued that it was not and that it was just harnessing a federal motto. State courts have sided with the motto argument.
At first glance, I was outraged. Why in the world would a state offer religious license plates in the first place? This clearly goes against the Establishment Clause and gives preference to religion. However, after looking at this issue a little more, I can recognize that this isn’t even a religion issue. “In God We Trust” is the national motto, and thus, it does not qualify as a necessary religious issue.
This case, however, brings up another issue that has been toying in my mind all semester. What is the constitutionality of “In God We Trust?” It is everywhere – congress, courts, our currency and now license plates for no additional fees. Doesn’t recognizing that there is one god and that the federal government acts under this assumption unconstitutional? Personally, I believe it does. We can talk history all we want, but throughout the Supreme Courts history and set precedent, we have seen a steady progression towards the secularization of the country. Of course the founding fathers may have used Judeo-Christian principles to aid decisions, but they did not intend religion to control government or dictate federal actions. Does this promote no religion? No, it just says that this country so understands that it will not allude to any faiths and leave that discretion up to the American people. But how far do we go? By taking action to erase God from the American government, some see it as an attack on faith. This is tough for me. We have seen a banning of prayer in public schools, scholarships for theological studies and other court decisions. Clearly, there is a clear line drawn, but why hasn’t the court gone a step further to ban prayer in congress or disallowing “In God We Trust” to be displayed on state or federal policy? I don’t understand this. When cases involved students, the court is up in arms – It’s all about the children! However, when it involves rational adults, all bets are off and the Constitution is thrown out the window on the basis of “they know better than to be influenced by a few measly words.” There is a huge problem with this, and I would hope the court would do something about it.
So my question to respondents – what do you think about this article? And, do you think “In God We Trust” is unconstitutional?
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13 comments:
I think that the phrase "In God We Trust" is sufficiently vague that banning it from government and official usage is unnecessary. It is all well and good to try and eliminate religious preference from government, but at some point we have to draw the line. The establishment clause was meant to prevet the persecution of religious minorities by the religious majority. I fail to see how the simple phrase In God We Trust hurts anyone
I would echo Robert's comments. I personally don't see how having that phrase present, whether it be on our money or our license plates, coerces people to follow one religion over another. True, it may imply a monotheistic deity or religion, but it does not establish any religion over any other, in my view. I agree with Robert that the phrase is vague enough to not become problematic. Also, I don’t really see an issue with not charging people to have it on their license plates. As long as it’s on our money, then like the court ruled, it’s not a personal phrase. If the phrase were to be removed from our money, then I would be in favor of charging people. However, as of now, I don’t see any problem with the lack of extra charges.
"In God We Trust" could be a problematic motto for a country that has vowed to ban establishment and put a wall of separation between the church and state. The reason that I do not think it is problematic for us is because it is a motto and goes no further. Although I understand and sympathize with those who want the phrase banned, I can't help but think that it is making a mountain out of a mole hill. At no point has IGWT been used to legitimate a decision by the government, enforce religious norms, or coerce an individual into belief. IGWT serves as a tool of patriotism like the flag, not a tool of religion like the cross. Because of the strictly secular nature of the phrase it seems better to let sleeping dogs lie. Making a case out of a national motto will only serve to make a religious issue where none exists.
I agree with Robert, Van and Johnny. In God We Trust isn't a religious statement but a national motto. The purpose of the motto isn't to further religion or even encourage religion but to inspire patriotism and unity. In God We Trust isn't hostile towards any one religion or futhering another, like Van said, it does emply a monotheistic religion, but the purpose isn't religion so I don't particularly see a problem with it. It isn't the ten commandments in the court room, its just a national motto. Making a legitimate case against In God We Trust would just open a can of worms that no one wants to deal with. Not that I'm saying we should avoid religious cases becuase they're going to rock the boat. I personally see In God We Trust to be the same as having 'one nation under God' in the pledge of allegence. As for the license plates, its perfectly legit to not charge extra for a license plate that has a national motto on it.
I also agree with the above posts stating that if the courts allow “In God We Trust” to be on money that holds precedence to the license plates, so it should be allowed. I do not see anything wrong with it. I feel that it is not an establishment of religion because people have a choice when they pick out their plates, whether they want the standard or specialized ones.
I feel that "In God We Trust" should be allowed to be on the license plates, but I do have the same question as Matt. The statement alone does not bother me because it is used federally. There are so many places that “In God We Trust” can be found that it does not seem to be directly related to religion anymore but it a historical saying. With the plethora of cases that have been seen throughout the semester it truly baffles me that this has never been brought to court. Although I do feel that “In God We Trust” should be allowed to be on the license plate, it should have been found unconstitutional when it was originally thought of. I feel that it is now too late to go back and find the statement unconstitutional. I almost want to say that it should be based off of the historical sense of tradition and being a part of the culture now.
I hesitate to agree with many posters here who suggest that the motto does not favor one religion over the other. This motto clearly excluded polytheistic religions, and those who do not believe in God. While the latter group of people is a different issue (freedom FROM religion) this motto does actually favor a particular group of religions. I do not agree with a previous poster that because it does not directly affect policy or play any importance in legislation, it is still a violation of the establishment act in my mind. Of course, there are more serious separation issues than this one but that does not mean it is any less of a violation. The Government should not be referring to any God(s) because it ultimately establishes religion to a degree that certain groups are excluded.
I have a hard time with this issue. To say it doesn't establish religion is tough because even though it's not one particular religion, it's establishing that America is a monotheistic nation. But then the other side of me says that this phrase has been so secularized that it's lost all of it's true religious value. Were people complaining about it after 9/11 when this motto was plastered all over our country? It almost seems just like something people want to complain about. This is something so entrenched in our culture, that to remove would cost millions of dollars. You're talking about the entire reprinting and redesigning of our currency. And that's just one instance where this phrase appears. Do we really want to spend millions of our own tax dollars just to remove that from our money? Personally, I dont want to and I doubt most of us care enough to change it. That might sound a little sad, but it's true in my opinion.
I agree with Jeremy on this issue. The phrase “In God We Trust” does appear on our currency and would cost a lot of money to have it removed. However, I think it is more important that the phrase has historical significance to this country. The founders used this phrase because it meant something to them. To remove the phrase, in my opinion, would be to say that it didn’t have historical significance on this country, and our founders. Therefore, since it is part of our country’s heritage and the government recognizes it, I find it acceptable to display the phrase on license plates. Now if the government didn’t recognize the phrase and put it on money...that would be a different story.
Owning slaves and beating women with a stick no bigger than one's thumb (Hence, the phrase 'rule of thumb') were also practices and beliefs of the framers of the Constitution--Thankfully, we've evolved.
George Washington once shot dead a man in front of Congress for treason. We don't allow this anymore either.
I've always thought of the phrase at issue as sardonically refering to our ultra-capitalism in the US; god meaning money.
If I were religious I might consider the phrase as degrading my faith by associating it with the US dollar or a license plate.
Considering this, playing with the words can elucidate:
"In God We Trust"
Who is We? Those with the money or cars?
Who is God? The creator?
...So, those with money place confidence and authority in the creator of the society that provided them with the means to acquire whatever it is the phrase happens to be stamped on.
Sounds like a hangover from facist chauvanistic patriarchal gentiles bent on keeping those without property or proper genitalia in the catagory of have-not.
Symbolically, this phrase stains contemporary human rights ideology, as well as degrades the faith of those it professes.
The pertinent part of the 1st amendment that applies to religious practices is "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof"...
The Establishment Clause of the First Amendment prohibits the establishment of a national religion by the Congress or the preference of one religion over another, non-religion over religion, or religion over non-religion. Originally, the First Amendment only applied to the federal government. Subsequently, under the incorporation doctrine, certain selected provisions were applied to states. It was not, however, until the middle and later years of the twentieth century that the Supreme Court began to interpret the Establishment and Free Exercise Clauses in such a manner as to restrict the promotion of religion by state governments. For example, in the Board of Education of Kiryas Joel Village School District v. Grumet, 512 U.S. 687 (1994), Justice David Souter, writing for the majority, concluded that "government should not prefer one religion to another, or religion to irreligion".
The Free Exercise Clause allows that any PERSON may practice his or her religion openly without question.
The "In God We Trust" slogan on any license plate is perfectly legal if:
1). - Having the statement on the particular plate that an individual uses is totally under control of the bearer of the plate. The use of the slogan is a decision that is made only be the plate user.
2). - The state can have no input into using the slogan. The state cannot give any preference to using the slogan on a plate, pro or con.
Also the term "God" is not necessarily Christian. The term "God", "Allah" or any other word referring to a supreme being can be used and it does not signify or promote any particular religion over any other religion.
Yesterday, I went to the county clerk's office to get my new license plates in Tennessee. I was asked if I wanted the "In God We Trust" version or the one without it. I chose the one without it because we, all non-indigenous people of America, left our countries of origin to be free. Is it freedom OF religion or freedom FROM religion to choose the way I chose? Our American government and our constitution were designed to make sure we would never as a nation slip back into a theocracy-ruled nation. I love God with my whole heart, but I also love the idea that our government is not going to dictate what "God" means. Please know that the "In God We Trust" logo is a political move from the far right. Otherwise, why has the motto not been placed on license plates prior to this radical right uprising that only wants to guarantee the freedoms of the people it deems as worthy? I will not be part of their cultural battle.
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