A Stitch in Haste

"My own feeling in the matter is due to my very firm conviction that to put such a motto on coins, or to use it in any kindred manner, not only does no good but does positive harm, and is in effect irreverence, which comes dangerously close to sacrilege..."
--Theodore Roosevelt

For those following the latest litigation by public atheist Michael Newdow, this time to compel the removal of "In God We Trust" from American money, here is a piece I originally published on June 30, 2005:

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I was going to do a general fisking of this silly op-ed by expelled Alabama Supreme Court Chief Judge Roy S. Moore. You may recall that Moore defied a federal injunction and his own state Supreme Court by installing and then refusing to remove a mammoth stone version of the Ten Commandments in the Alabama Supreme Court building. So disrespectful of the rule of law was he that, in the end, he had to be removed from office by his own state Supreme Court colleagues.

As one might expect, for the most part Moore simply and weakly parrots Justice Scalia's dissent in McCreary County v. ACLU, about which I have already blogged. The fatally flawed Scalia-Moore thesis is that the First Amendment's protection of freedom of religion does not mean freedom from religion, since the United States always has been and is today a Christian, er, Judeo-Christian, er, generically monotheistic nation. Which, of course, is patently untrue.

But then I read this:

Every state constitution acknowledges God and so does our national motto, "In God We Trust."

Now I can't speak to state constitutions, but let's explore the history of "In God We Trust." (My source, from which I am borrowing freely, is here.)

--The original motto at the time of the Founding was of course not "In God We Trust," but rather "E Pluribus Unum," Latin for "Out of Many, One." So any so-called "originalist," which Moore claims to be, should by definition not be excessively loyal to "In God We Trust," since it does not reflect the Framers' intent. Go figure.

--The move to put God into government came not at the Founding but during the Civil War, and it was Treasury Secretary Salmon P. Chase who, pressured by various Protestant religious leaders, first authorized "In God We Trust" on coins. Would we today characterize his actions as those of an "activist" Cabinet member? And since the Civil War is, um, over, do we really need reminding that "God opposes slavery"?

--Congress, meanwhile, did not authorize "In God We Trust" until 1886, and widespread use of the motto on coins did not commence until 1909, and was still not used at all on paper currency. So much for Moore's beloved "framers intent." (And, of course, just because Congress authorizes something doesn't make it constitutional then or now.)

--Even during this period, "In God We Trust" was not the motto of the United States; it was still "E Pluribus Unum." The switch did not occur until 1956, as a reminder that "God opposes Communism." Well, the Cold War is over too, so perhaps it's time to rethink, especially in these "War on Terror," "Red State versus Blue State" times, the preferability of "E Pluribus Unum" over "In God We Trust" (that same god to which, according to Justice Scalia, Osama bin Laden also prays).

--It was also during the McCarthy era (are we proud of those times generally?) that "under God" was added to the Pledge of Allegiance, "so help me God" was added to the Inauguration Oath, and "In God We Trust" was added to paper currency.

When Moore or anyone says that these practices are reflective of "originalism" or "framers' intent" or "a long history of god in government," they, um, lie.

And don't the Ten Commandments have something to say about lying?

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More thoughts on the Newdow litigation at Downtown Lad.