The phrase âÄúIn God We TrustâÄù stamped onto our currency inevitably becomes a daily reminder to most Americans âÄî but a daily reminder of what?
It is intriguing to me that in a society growing more and more liberal, these words are still supported and maintained by our government. Today in America, gay marriage has high levels of support, abortion is legal, the death penalty has been legalized in numerous states, and Christianity has been taken out of public schools and other public institutionsâÄî all of which has been resisted by the Church, using the Bible to support its position. In a society that seems to be drifting in the direction of liberal, secular thought, how is it that âÄúIn God We TrustâÄù is still our motto?
âÄúIn God We TrustâÄù first became a part of our currency in the early 1860s by direction of the U.S. Treasury Department as a result of increasing religious belief during the Civil War.
They found it appropriate that the sentiments of the country become a part of our money design.
At the time, Treasury Secretary Salmon P. Chase said, âÄúNo nation can be strong except in the strength of God, or safe except in His defense. The trust of our people in God should be declared on our national coins. You will cause a device to be prepared without unnecessary delay with a motto expressing in the fewest and tersest words possible this national recognition.âÄù  
The urgency expressed for the inclusion of religious language on our currency is ironic, because now it seems we strive with this same urgency to scrub the evidence of religious influence from out of the public sphere, despite its crucial role in our countryâÄôs founding and development.
In the same way that many have fought to legalize many things that Christians disapprove of, our society continues to fight to remove any residue of the religion, harmful or not.
It has been debated that even including âÄúIn God We TrustâÄù on our currency is in violation of the First Amendment, as though in some way inclusion of the phrase forces all who use our currency to truly trust in God. Clearly this isnâÄôt true, in the same way it is in no way decreasing the value of our dollar.
But is it appropriate? Why entrench a phrase into something as important and ubiquitous as our currency if that is no longer a reflection of who we are?
It seems that when the motto was first introduced, an overwhelming majority of people in America held the same religious beliefs and supported the nationâÄôs new motto. But are the sentiments of the people still the same? Do we still trust in God, or is it government institutions that we now trust in? Is it ourselves, humanity? Or, ironically, could it be money itself?
Whether or not the slogan should change, is, in honesty, probably not the most pressing of our countryâÄôs problems right now. However, the reality behind the motto as of now is important to note, since it will probably be an accurate reflection on how we as a people may handle many conflicts in the future. For, where biblical principle once was a significant guiding force in our country, a new school of liberal thought is now taking over.
So what does this mean for the progression of our society? Will it result in increased freedom for the people? Or will lack of faith lead us to self- destruction? No one can really say, but many of our countryâÄôs important values and principles were grounded in religion, something our country is now slowly distancing itself from.