Just got forwarded an email chain letter urging me to vote in an MSNBC live-poll…
| Should the motto “In God We Trust” be removed from U.S. currency? | |||
| Yes. It’s a violation of the principle of separation of church and state. | |||
| No. The motto has historical and patriotic significance and does nothing to establish a state religion. | |||
Here’s my problem – I may have a “yes” or “no” opinion on the question, but I absolutely do not agree with either of the elaborations.
Regarding the first, the “principle of separation of church and state” is not a proper Constitutional legal doctrine… the only constitutional principles are “free exercise” and “no state establishment”. So if “In God We Trust” should be removed, it would have to be on the basis of it either inhibiting the free exercise of religion (which it clearly does not) or because it somehow establishes a state church (which it also does not, although strident secularists would argue otherwise).
Regarding the second, the phrase does have historical and patriotic significance, but these cannot be decoupled from its theological significance. While it clearly does not establish a state church (as I have claimed above), it does have religious significance, pointing to the fundamentally theistic philosophical foundations for our system of law and governance.
Of course, speaking as a Christian I find it deeply ironic that we print “in God we trust” on the instruments of Mammon, in whom we actually trust. Were God actually an object of trust in any practical sense for America as a nation or its people, perhaps I would see more virtue than parody in the slogan.
it’s sad that i look at that phrase as a parody, but i’m very cynical about the motives of our political machine and seeing as how the largest voter demographic is still christian, i think it will stay for a while longer.
Comment by thomas — August 28, 2008 @ 5:18 pm |