In God We Trust

Readers should realize that many major Christian denominations understand that this is a nation for ALL peoples and beliefs and that not all Christians are as unfeeling of the rights and sensibilities of others as are the minority of religious zealots who try to use the power of government to promote their beliefs over those of others.

**********************************

The Constitution of these United States was ratified in 1789 without a single reference to "God." At that time, 4 percent (some figures may go as high as 20%) of the populace was church-involved and many statesmen were deists, including the first six presidents.

The first directions as to mottoes on currency were given in Statute II, Chapt. II, January 18, 1837, "An Act supplementary to the act entitled 'An Act establishing a mint, and regulating the coins of the United States.'" In it (a) Sec. 2, Sixth read:

"The engraver shall prepare and engrave, with the legal devices and inscriptions, all the dies used in the coinage of the mint and its branches."

and Sec. 13 read:

"And be it further enacted, That upon the coins struck at the mint there shall be the following devices and legends; upon one side of each of said coins there shall be an impression emblematic of liberty, with an inscription of the word LIBERTY, and the year of the coinage; and upon the reverse of each of the gold and silver, there shall be the figure or representation of an eagle, with the inscription United States of America, and a designation of the value of the coin; but on the reverse of the dime and half dime, cent and half cent, the figure of the eagle shall be omitted."

The coinage was totally secular; as clean from a mention of God as was the Constitution.

As the theistic community grew, its power grew, so that by the pre-Civil War days church membership was up to 23 percent (some sources go as high as 37%). Hoping to overcome the "omission" of god from the Constitution, on February 3, 1863, 11 Protestant denominations organized the National Reform Association whose primary mission was to amend the Constitution of the United States to "declare the nation's allegiance to Jesus Christ," to "indicate that this is a Christian nation," and to "undeniably" put the "legal basis" of the land on "Christian laws, institutions and usages." The Association formally petitioned Congress to amend the Preamble of the Constitution so as to read:

"We, the people fo the United States, humbly acknowledging Almighty God as the source of all authority and power in civil government, the Lord Jesus Christ as the Ruler among the nations, His revealed will as the supreme law of the land, in order to constitute a Christian government, and in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness to ourselves, our posterity, and all the people, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."

The "Christian amendment" never succeeded in obtaining either approval of Congress or any state. The NRA [not the gun boys - the religion boys] continued its efforts into the 20th century when it still had registered lobbyists up to the late '50s.

The NRA attracted emminent men into its ranks in 1863; a Supreme Court Justice [Strong], a couple Pennsylvania governors [Geary and Pollock], Harvey of Kansas, Stewart of Vermont and the Commissioner of Public Schools of Rhode Island to name a few.

Pollock, who became Director of the Mint, figures largely in placing the motto "In God We Trust" on U.S. coins. What the religious fanatics who advocated the "Christian amendment" could not do overtly with the support of the electorate, was accomplished covertly, through the determination of one of their members.

Since the Act of 1837 proscribed any mottoes other than those enacted, Pollock and his pals slipped in a seemingly innocuous amendment to the Act in the form of "An Act in Amendment of an Act entitled, 'An Act Relating to Foreign Coins and the Coinage of Cents at the Mint of the United States,' approved February twenty-one, eighteen hundred and fifty-seven," was passed by Congress on April 22, 1864. That Act read as follows:

"Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, that, from and after the passage of this act, the standard weight of the cent coined at the mint of the United States shall be forty-eight grains, or one tenth of one ounce troy; and said cent shall be composed of ninety-five per centum of tin and zinc, in such proportions as shall be determined by the director of the mint; and there shall be from time to time struck and coined at the mint a two-cent piece of the same composition, the standard weight of which shall be ninety-six grains, or one fifth of one ounce troy, with no greater deviation than four grains to each piece of said cent and two-cent coins; and the shape [here comes the kicker], MOTTOES [my emphasis], and devices of said coins shall be fixed by the DIRECTOR OF THE MINT [guess who?], with the approval of the Secretary of the Treasury; and the laws now in force relating to the coinage of cents and providing for the purchase of material and prescribing the appropriate duties of the officers of the mint and the Secretary of the Treasury be, and the same are hereby, extended to the coinage provided for."

Bingo! Pollock now had carte blanche to Christianize our coins. He minted 26+ million two-cent pieces with his motto. Having his foot in the door, his pals presented the shotgun to cover all our money with Jesus with, "An Act to authorize the Coinage of Three-Cent pieces, and for other Purposes," passed by Congress on March 3, 1865, Section Five of that Act being:

"And be it further enacted, That, in addition to the devices and legends upon the gold, silver, and other coins [sic] of the United States, it shall be lawful for the director of the mint, with the approval of the Secretary of the Treasury, to cause the motto 'In God We Trust' to be placed upon such coins hereafter to be issued as shall admit of such legend thereon."

The motto was applied here and there to various denominations [no pun intended] after 1866. Theodore Roosevelt commissioned an artist to design new coins in 1905 and the artist disliked the inartistic intrusion of the God motto and opted for 'E Pluribus Unum' which T.R. also liked. The first coins with that motto were issued in 1907.

When religious factions discovered their precious Jesus had been replaced by a more proper and secular motto they went nuts and the issue became a political hot potato. After a lot of bellyaching and mud-slinging, Congress weaseled out and passed Public Law No. 120 making it a law that God would be on the coins.

The first coin minted with the legalized motto was the Lincoln penny of 1909; a celebration of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln. Pretty ironic [and disrespectful too] inasmuch as Lincoln probably would not have thought this proper.

Q: Does anyone know when "In God We Trust" was put on dollar bills? Hasn't it always been on our bills?

Part II - the 'Bills'

Now that god was all over the coins, things went along for a while without much change except that coins were being used less and less as primary exchange and bills were becoming the main form of currency.

When the Cold War was enjoying its heyday and McCarthyism hysteria gripped the land, the National Reform Association and religious institutions moved again to capture the symbols of the nation.

In hysterical language of the day, the Committee on the Judiciary published on May 10, 1954, that "...one of the greatest differences between the free world and the Communists, [is] a belief in God." It was urged that the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag be altered to recognize god. PS 623 (77th Cong., 56 Stat.) effectuated that end.

On June 7, 1955, H.R. 619, "Providing for the inscription of 'In God We Trust' on all United States Currency and Coins," was introduced in the House. The author of the bill made his intent clear (Congressional Record, June 7, 1955, pp. 7795-96):

"Nothing can be more certain than that our country was founded in a spiritual atmosphere and with a firm trust in God. While the sentiment of trust in God is universal and timeless, these particular four words, 'In God We Trust' are indigenous to our country...." "At the base of our freedom is our faith in God and the desire of Americans to live by His will and by His guidance. As long as this country trusts in God, it will prevail. To serve as a constant reminder of this truth, it is highly desirable that our currency and coins should bear these inspiring words, 'In God We Trust.'"

The Committee on Banking and Commerce reported that the 'situation' [i.e. no God on paper money] had not been 'remedied' sooner due to the prohibitive cost of redesigning all the dies used in printing paper money. Since they were about to replace all the old equipment anyway and needed to make new dies, the Committee reported it would be no financial hardship to slip "In God We Trust" onto the paper currency.

The House passed the bill. On June 29, 1955, the Senate followed suit.

Of course, the Cold War was still on and McCarthyism still lingered, so since "godding" up the money had gone so smoothly, the religious forces pushed H.R. Res. 396 on March 22, 1956, to establish "In God We Trust" as a national motto. The rest, as they say, is history - sordid history at best but history best remembered when somebody sez "we've always had God on our money."

The history of the placing of this motto on our coins and currency evidences the religious origin of it and demonstrates that the entire exercise is an establishment of religion.

The "founding fathers" were not devout Christians despite what the religious right likes to claim

With the upcoming election, and the Republican right attempting to make political hay out of the gay marriage issue, there has been a fair amount of talk about the founding fathers, and this country being a "Christian nation".
The group of men known as the "founding fathers" were an eclectic collection of Christians, Deists, Freethinkers and perhaps even agnostics and atheists. While it can be argued that most if not all of them believed in a supreme being of one form or another, it can be shown that many of them had no love for Christianity or the church, and indeed there is no question that they set out to found a nation that was decidedly not Christian.

To illustrate the thoughts of the "founding fathers" on religion and Christianity, I submit the following quotes by some of them:

Thomas Jefferson:

The day will come when the mystical generation of Jesus, by the Supreme Being as his father, in the womb of a virgin, will be classed with the fable of the generation of Mineva in the brain of Jupiter."

"Question with boldness the existence of God. I do not believe any of the Christian doctrines. The greatest enemies of Jesus are the doctrines and creeds of the church. It would be more pardonable to believe in no God at all then to blaspheme him by the atrocious writings of the theologians. John Calvin was a demon and malignant spirit."

"I have recently been examining all the known superstitions of the world, and do not find in our particular superstition [Christianity] one redeeming feature. They are all alike, founded upon fables and mythology."

"Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one he must more approve of the homage of Reason than of blindfolded fear . . . [N]aturally examine, first the religion of your own country. Read the Bible . . . For example, in the book of Joshua we are told the sun stood for several hours . . . it is said that the writer of that book was inspired.

Examine, therefore, candidly, what evidence there is of his having been inspired. The pretension is entitled to . . . inquiry, because millions believe it. On the other hand . . . it is contrary to the laws of Nature . . . [R]ead the New Testament. It is the history of a personage called Jesus. Keep in your eye the opposite pretensions: 1, Of those who say he was begotten of God, born of a virgin, suspended and reversed the laws of Nature at will, and ascended bodily into heaven; and 2, Of those who say he was a man of illegitimate birth, of a benevolent heart, enthusiastic mind, who wet out with pretensions to divinity; ended in believing them, and was punished capitally for sedition, by being gibbeted, according to the Roman law . . . Do not be frightened from this inquiry by an fear of consequences. If it ends in a belief that there is no God, you will find incitements to virtue in the comfort and pleasantness you will feel in its exercise, and the love of others which it will procure you. If you find reason to believe there is a God, a consciousness that you are acting under his eye, and that he approves you, will be a vast additional incitement; if that Jesus was also a God, you will be comforted by a belief of his aid and love. Your own reason is the only oracle given you by heaven; and you are answerable, not for the rightness, but uprightness, of the decision."

Thomas Paine:

"Whenever we read the obscene stories, the voluptuous debaucheries, the cruel and tortuous executions, the unrelenting vindictiveness with which more than half the Bible is filled, it would be more consistent that we call it the word of a demon than the word of God. It is a history of wickedness that has served to corrupt and brutalize mankind."

"The character of Moses is the most horrid tale that can be imagined. Moses was a wretch that committed the most horrible atrocities that can be found in the literature of any nation. 'For Moses said unto them (according to the Bible), kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known a man by lying with him, but al the women that have not known a man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves.' Among the most detestable villains in history, you could not find one worse than Moses. Here is an order, attributed to 'God' to butcher the boys, to massacre the mothers and to debauch and rape the daughters. I would not dare to dishonor my Creator's name by [attaching] it to this filthy book. Men and books lie. Only nature does not lie."

James Madison:

"Religion and government will both exist in greater purity, the less they are mixed together."

"Every new and successful example of a perfect separation between ecclesiastical and civil matters is of importance."

"Is the appointment of Chaplains to the two Houses of Congress consistent with the Constitution, and with the pure principles of religious freedom? In strictness the answer on both points must be in the negative. The Constitution of the United States forbids everything like an establishment of a national religion. The law appointing Chaplains establishes a religious worship for the national representatives, to be performed by Ministers of religion, elected by a majority of them, and these are to be paid out of the national taxes. Does this not involve the principle of a national establishment . . . ?"

John Adams:

"I almost shudder at the thought of alluding to the most fatal example of the abuses of grief which the history of mankind has preserved--the Cross. Consider what calamities that engine of greed has produced!"

"The 'divinity' of Jesus is made a convenient cover for absurdity. Nowhere in the Gospels do we find a precept for Creeds, Confessions, Oaths, Doctrines and whole carloads of other foolish trumpery that we find Christianity encumbered with."

"The priesthood have, in all nations, monopolized learning, and ever since the Reformation where or when has existed a Protestant or dissenting sect who would tolerate a free inquiry or free thought. The most ungentlemanly insolence, the most yahoooish brutality, is patiently endured, countenanced, propagated, and applauded. But touch solemn truth in collision with a dogma of a sect, though capable of the clearest proof, and you will soon find that you have disturbed a nest, and the hornets will swarm about your eyes and hands, and fly into your face and eyes."

These are but a few of the quotes available that show the "founding fathers" to be other than the devout Christians that some members of the Christian right would have you believe.

I'd like to say that the attempts by some of our contemporaries to insert their brand of religion into our government would leave the "founding fathers" shocked and horrified, but alas, this kind of behavior is nothing new.

Thomas Jefferson himself, writing in his autobiography, mentions an attempt to include a reference to "Jesus Christ" in the wording of the Virginia Act for Religious Freedom:

Where the preamble declares, that coercion is a departure from the plan of the holy author of our religion, an amendment was proposed by inserting the words "Jesus Christ", so that it should read "A departure from the plan of Jesus Christ, the holy author of our religion;" the insertion was rejected by a great majority, in proof that they meant to comprehend within the mantle of it's protection, the Jew and the Gentile, the Christian and the Mohammedan, the Hindoo and Infidel of every denomination. It would seem that the Christian right was even then attempting to force their version of Christianity on the people of the United States.