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The final stanza of " The Star-Spangled Banner," written in 1814 by Francis Scott Key (and later adopted as the U.S. National Anthem), contains one of the earliest references to a variation of the phrase: "...And this our motto be: "In God is our trust."
The most common place where the motto is observed in daily life is on the money of the United States. The first United States coin to bear this national motto was the 1864 two-cent piece. It did not appear on paper money until the 1950's.
Today, the motto is a source of some heated contention. One side argues that a need for a " separation of church and state" requires that the motto be removed from all public use, including on coins and paper money. They argue that religiousReligion sometimes used interchangeably with faith, is commonly defined as belief concerning the supernatural, sacred, or divine, and the practices and institutions associated with such belief. Borobudur, a Buddhist stupa built between 750 and 850 Adriaen freedom includes the right to believe in the non-existence of God and that the gratuitous use of the motto infringes upon the religious rights of the unreligious. They argue that any endorsement of God by the government is unconstitutional. Many also argue that the motto, along with the addition of "under God" to the Pledge of AllegianceThe Pledge of Allegiance is a promise or oath of allegiance to the United States, and to its national flag. It is commonly recited in unison at public events, and especially in public school classrooms, where the Pledge is often a morning ritual. In its p, was made official simply because of US opposition to the atheisticAtheist" redirects here. For the music group, see Atheist (band). Atheism is the condition of lacking theistic belief. Etymology The term atheism (French atheisme from athee meaning atheist, from Greek atheos, meaning godless : a-, without; + , theos, mea Soviet UnionThe Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR ( Russian: ; tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik (SSSR) also called the Soviet Union ( ; tr. Sovetsky Soyuz , was a state in much of the northern region of Eurasia that existed from 1922 until 1, the main adversary of the United States at the time.
The other side of the argument states that the separation of church and state means that Congress shall not impose a state religionSee also civil religion. A state religion (also called an established church or state church is a religious body or creed officially endorsed by the state. The term state church is most closely associated with Christianity, although it is sometimes used i on the populace, and that the separation of church and state is a legislative invention not intended by the founding fathers. They argue that religious language is used in the founding documents, such as "Nature and Nature's God" in the Declaration of Independence; although opponents point out that the Declaration is simply a historical, rather than official, document of the US Government. The Constitution lacks such references.
Interestingly, Theodore RooseveltTheodore Roosevelt Order 26th President Term of Office September 14, 1901 March 4, 1909 Predecessor William McKinley Successor William Howard Taft Date of Birth Wednesday, October 27, 1858 Place of Birth New York City Date of Death Monday, January 6, 1919 argued against the requirement of the motto on coinage, not because of a lack of faith in God, but because he thought it sacrilegious to put the name of the Deity on something so common as money. This argument is rarely used by either side today.
Whichever side of the argument is ultimately victorious will be determined at some point in the future, either by judicial fiat, legislation or constitutional amendment; but at this point use of the motto on circulating coinage is required by law. Some activists have been known to cross out the motto on paper money as a form of protest. While several laws come into play, the act of May 18May 18 is the 138th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (139th in leap years). There are 227 days remaining. Events 1593 Playwright Thomas Kyd's accusations of heresy lead to an arrest warrant for Christopher Marlowe. 1652 Rhode Island passes the fi, 1908 is most often cited as requiring the motto (even though the cent and nickel were excluded from that law, and the nickel did not have the motto added until 1938). Since 1938, all coins have borne the motto. The use of the motto was permitted, but not required, by an 1873 law. The motto was added to paper money over a period from 1964 to 1966.