This is a secular nation so no beliefs or religions should be pushed (1st amendment). Also putting "In God We Trust" on money violates the Constitution. This is clearly unconstitutional and should be removed!
The separation of church and state is a political doctrine which states that the institutions of the state or national government should be kept separate from those of religious institutions
"I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, thus building a wall of separation between Church and State." Thomas Jefferson
2006-12-31 09:13:57 · 15 answers · asked by keaton f 2 in Politics & Government ➔ Other - Politics & Government
Read your own answer "should make no law respecting an "establishment" of religion. In England the Church of England was tied in with the state. In Spain the Catholic Church was tied in with the state. What the founding fathers had in mind was an official denomination lording it over everybody with the backing of the state. Doubtless the founding fathers have heard of the terrible inquisition happening in Spain and have seen oppresion from the ecclesiastical authorities in England. What the founding fathers had in mind was freedom for anybody to believe in what they pleased. If you wanted to believe in God you could, if you didn't you didn't have too. The reason it's ethched in our motto is that most people freely believe in God. That's why it's the motto of the nation. Is this a secular country? I don't think so. What this is, is a free country. You have the right to have secular beliefs, christian beliefs, or other kind of beliefs. An official secular country was the Soviet Union, and look at what happened to that country.
2006-12-31 09:36:36 · answer #1 · answered by Andres 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Sorry, this just isn't an issue. I don't have any problem with keeping or removing the phrase - but the phrase itself is not a violation of the constitution. If the money said "We love the Baptist Church" - that would be unconsitutional, because it's favoring one specific religion. "God" is a generic term, roughly equal to "Alah", "Higher Power", "The Almighty", or "Infinite Cosmic Wisdom".
You quote Thomas Jefferson above, but I wonder if you really thought about what Jefferson wrote. He was in favor of keeping religions - be they Baptist, Buddhist, Scientology, or Druid - out of national government and the politics that runs the government. The wall of seperation he refers to means that the government also may not establish any rules governing what is to be done in a religion's services, or dictating that one religion is any more valid than another. Do not kid yourself about what constitutes "religion". Look up the definition of "religion" in any good dictionary - in a very broad sense, many Americans are "religious" about watching football or other sports on TV.
2006-12-31 09:37:39 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
You (and the Supreme Court) are reading into the 1st Amendment. It only forbids the establishment of a state religion, and it protects the free exercise of religion. Having "In God We Trust" on currency hardly constitutes the establishment of any religion. If it worries or bothers some people, the problem is with them, because it does not constitute any threat to the practice of any religion or of no religion.
2006-12-31 09:34:25 · answer #3 · answered by sargon 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There is no state sponsored religion. The constitution guarantees this, and because of this Americans are free to worship as they please. However, I do not believe that this in and of itself makes the statement on money unconstitutional. There are far too many serious problems in the world and this country to spend time and money on such an insignificant issue. Let's start feeding and educating our citizens, then after that is done we can change our currency.
2006-12-31 09:26:05 · answer #4 · answered by Brian G 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You obviously have no knowledge about our law system! ''separation of church and state is just a phrase in a letter-regardless it's Thomas Jefferson's letter! Nowhere in our constitution does it say to not to acknowledge a god exists .In god we trust is a phrase used to recognize a general view that a god exists regardless of a faith's view on what type of god. It's secular progressives like you who are ruining America!!!!!!!!!Keaton F!!!!!!!!
2006-12-31 09:28:47 · answer #5 · answered by ANGELINA s 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'm all for separation of church and state, but having "In God we trust" on dollar bills and "Under god" in the Pledge of Allegiance just doesn't bother me. There are bigger issues with the economy than what it says on the dollar bill.
2006-12-31 09:22:39 · answer #6 · answered by glitterkittyy 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You only get as much justice as you pay for. Keaton, unless you've got a lot of money, give it up. Secondly, this is old news. We've heard it before. As if no one has heard of separation of church and state.
2006-12-31 09:17:53 · answer #7 · answered by marijuwannahman 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's a dumb lie, but who cares? The dollar has depreciated, and pretty soon you'll be carrying your $100 notes in wheelbarrows and nobody will pay much attention to what's printed on them.
Sort of like calling a country a "People's Republic of ..." -- meaningless pretense.
2006-12-31 09:17:00 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
i beg to differ. The united states and the founding fathers founded america on religion.
2006-12-31 10:09:47 · answer #9 · answered by Demon_Hunter 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
"In God We Trust" is not pushing beliefs on you. No one is making you believe this. You can use checks and credit cards if you want to avoid it that bad.
2006-12-31 09:20:36 · answer #10 · answered by Curt 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋