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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