American Atheists: a question for you?

Question

I'm Atheist too. I was wondering...as US citizens, do you find fair that on your bills and small change (your national currency) there's written : 'In God we trust'?

Isn't that discriminatory in a way? I mean, you're US citizens too right? So, why would a democratic, tolerant, not discriminating country print such a discriminatory statement on its bills? I'm asking this question as an Atheist living in a Secular country where religion is not allowed to interfere with social life.

A Muslim country with 'Allah-u Ekber' printed on its bills would be rightly considered a fundamentalist country, how about the US then? Don't you Atheists there have the right to be taken into account by your Administration too as US citizens? Shouldn't every country promote equality and abhor any sort of discrimination, including religious discrimination as well?

'In God' we trust' on your bills means that no Atheist is considered a US citizen, is that fair?

Answer 1

I'm an Atheist too and I think they should remove "In God We Trust" from our money. I also think they should get rid of "Under God" from the Pledge of Allegiance

Answer 2

Well, since the FIRST WHITE Americans were the religiously oppressed Purtians and Pilgrims and virtually ALL the first settlers got their Charter from England for religious persecution reasons 80% of this country has not only been religious but specifically Christian based. Devoutly based, too!

By the time of the founding of the US, however, the country became watered down with liberals who wanted to keep religion out of the government and basically people who only gave religion lip service. There was an attempt to put God in the Consitution but it could not muster 9 state approvals required to pass.

At the end of the Civil war there was a lot of appeals from people to put God on the money and Congress approved this in the 1860s and then in 1956 durring the "Atheist Communist Menance" generated by the USSR, the space race, the nuclear race, speeches at the UN about "we will bury you" from the USSR leader and the Red consiprarcy theories of McCarthy, Congress made it our offical "Motto" and also put it into the plege.

It pass both houses of Congress and has presidential approval.

To this date Christians comprise a vast majority. Mormons formed a whole state (Utah), as did CAtholics (Massachueestes) and Baptists and Methodists took firm roots in other states (we call the Bible Belt) and ATheists only comprise 1% of the population.

The US could declare itself a Christian nation and this could pass amendment over time. IT has not done this, but it has called itself a nation under God and this God also now embraces Muslims.

The big problem with calling this a Christian Nations, is that the varioius and sundry Christians worry about domination by a faith. You won't get black, nothern and southern Baptists to agree on much. It be like having REpublicans and Democrats.

Catholics, therefore, are the leading MAjority and all those 12 million new immigrants from MExico are Catholic. eventually the US will have a majority not just a plurality of Catholics.

The other sects don't want to be dominated or have to be Catholic to be in Congress. so there is no great movement to change things.

I personally want us to be more secular like you say your country is and I'm religious, but I believe in harsh separation between church and state. Many of the people who first came here were divded on that issue. Half favored separation and half favored a Church run government.

That is probably why the God inclusion into the Constitution failed in 1789.

Answer 3

Hmmmm. I think that in the future, this issue will be addressed. However, at this time in our nation's "life" there are just too many people who believe in the saying to have it removed from our bills. I understand that you feel a "democratic, tolerant, non discriminating country" should not have a statement such as this on its bills, but you need to consider how long those bills have been around. This country was founded on the right to religious freedom, but at that time having religious freedom meant believing in whichever God you wanted to. There were not many people who migrated to the new world who did not believe in some sort of God. There was much less science then and for most people, religion was the only hope they had in a new and scary world. US currency has looked largely the same since that time, and yes, I realize that many new bills have been printed to prevent counterfeiting. However, it would be political suicide for any politician to broach the subject of removing those words from our currency because there are so many believers out there. Wait a few decades....then you will probably see some progress.

Answer 4

I understand what you're saying. Trying to change the currency just isn't going to happen, it's far too symbolically potent. It would mobilize the religious right even more than same-sex marriage.

I don't feel like my citizenship is in question. The phrase is a 200 year old artifact. The political power of fundamentalist Christians, especially Rapture-lovers playing around with military lives and hardware in the Middle East scares me a whole lot more. It's those sorts of issues that we really need to work on.

Answer 5

How sad that JTravis doesn't understand American history. While the Purtians came to America to practice their own brand of religion, the Virginia Colony was a business venture. It is simply untrue to say all our founders came here for religion, because our founders were here already, the sons and grandsons of English immigrants.

Our founders had been forced to be members of state churches, and that is why our founders themselves chose to have no religious test for public office put right in the constitution, as well as Jefferson's wall of separation between church and state.

It is so sad and discouraging that Americans can reach adulthood and not realize that this is not a christian nation. In fact, many of our founders signed the Treaty of Tripoli which states explicitly that America is not a christian nation. And, John Adams wrote to Jefferson that by the 21st century, Americans would have dispensed with the silliness of religion.

Answer 6

I think it's a tempest in a teapot. The words printed on a piece of currency, except of course for the amount, do not have a great effect on my daily life.

I believe what I believe, and let others believe what they believe.

Belief is a very complex matter, I believe, and very private and individual.

"In God We Trust" on the currency does not disenfranchise atheists. Atheists may still vote, hold office, serve in the military and do all the things that any theist or agnostic may do.

Answer 7

I understand your feelings, but in a country that is rapidly paving over it's history and heritage to make way for a new mall or so that we are not offensive to the many beliefs and cultures we have here, I think we should keep some heritage. While we many not believe in a God, our founding forefathers did and their belief was one of the reasons that we are where we are today. To blank out the historical reference is to say that their sacrifices were meaningless. Not only that but it obscures the actual history, which is not a good thing.

Answer 8

Calm down, that staement in no way is saying hat you are not a citizen, you are looking way too much into this. First of all, This country was founded on Christ and Christianity. Now, I'm not a religious person myself, but I cope with people that are because I am secure in what I believe in. I don't feel threatened if someone wants to pray around or even for me. Maybe you should take a lesson and grow up. It is really not that serious. Obviously you are just looking for something to complain about. Like I said Grow up.........

Answer 9

No, it's not fair - altho George Bush Sr did say he didn't know if atheists could be true americans.

We have that motto on our money, just as we added 'under god' to our pledge, because of the cold war and because of the fascistic tendencies in America. I abhor the motto on the money - our founders' motto was 'of many one' and that should have remained as our motto.

We have a court case working trying to get 'under god' out of our pledge. Interestingly, I was raised a military dependent and our military base schools never put the words 'under god' in the pledge. When I got out into the 'real world' I realized I was saying it differently than others. (Don't even get me started about the bizzare notion of having a pledge....)

Anyway, with the great Atheist Thomas Jefferson as one of our founders and the great first amendment as one of our protections, the whacko fundamentalist fascists can write their slogans everywhere - doesn't make them true or doesn't take away my rights. (Tho it does make a lot of us worry about the future.)

Answer 10

It's very "not right". In God WE trust?

umm....I don't know about everybody else, but I don't trust what does not exist.

EVERYBODY in America is not religious, not everybost worphips invisible beings up in the sky.

In God We Trust should NOT be on any material that the general public handles every day. It's like propaganda.

If they are going to do that they may as well also say, DOGGY STYLE IS GOOD, or perhaps LASAGNA IS GOOD, or IN OURSELVES WE TRUST.