DiscussMormonism.com

How do you feel about the use of 'God' in our government - specifically:

The pledge of allegiance - one nation, under god
Money - 'in god we trust'
The 10 commandments on public property
The national anthem
etc.

3 years ago, I couldn't believe there were people who tried to have 'god' removed - specifically i remember the guy who sued the gov. because his daughter was being required to say the pledge, and he objected because it mentioned god.

Now however, I can see where he's coming from. Most of the 'god stuff' in government is a relatively new phenomenon (in the last 50 years).

Anyhow, how does this affect you Atheists, Agnostics, etc.? Does it bug you? Is it something you'd like to see changed? What are you willing to do about it? Or are you not bothered at all by it?

Although I'm not an Atheist, I don't really understand why it should bother an atheist that "God" is used as part of our governmental formalities (i.e. "In God we Trust" printed on money, etc.)

Personally, I simply view it as a part of the uniqueness of American culture.

The country was founded by people who were religious. These same people made a conscious effort to allow people who reside here to worship who, how, and what they choose because they were fleeing from England, and were forced to be Catholics whether they liked it or not.

I'm not sure whether or not I'd agitate for the "under God" to be removed from the Pledge, but I do see the guy's point, certainly. It helps me be a little more willing to say it ought to go away to realize that this isn't ancient American culture - the "under God" was actually added only 40 or 50 years ago.

The "In God We Trust" on the money doesn't really bother me too much. It's a historical artifact at this point, and I don't wish to see it go.

I don't see a good reason for the Ten Commandments to be publicly displayed in courthouses and the like. Many of the things in the Ten Commandments aren't actually against the law anyhow, nor do they serve as the "basis" for American law, as some fundies like to claim.

I’ll admit that this is a pet peeve of mine. Part of it is like what you said; it is a recent phenomenon with roots in the cold war, and there is a concerted effort to rewrite history and make the foundation of the nation look more Christian than it really was.

I don’t mind, say, a nativity scene on the lawn at the city courthouse, as long as there are some plastic reindeer there as well to make it clear that the display is cultural rather than religious.

“In God We Trust” on the money isn’t that big of a deal to me, although I’d vote to have it removed if given the choice.

“One nation, under God, indivisible” in the pledge really bugs me. First, the original pledge said, “one nation, indivisible.” Back then, the pledge made sense, and the concept of a unified nation was the focused purpose of that clause. By throwing “under God” in there, it confuses the acute message, to say nothing of mutilating the rhythm. The reason why it was added was to endorse religion by the government. Now in a daily religious exercise in our public schools, our kids put their hands over their hearts, and solemnly declare this religious belief. Kids who don’t believe in this religious doctrine are placed in the awkward situation of having to either disingenuously put their hands on their hearts and say this, or refrain from participating, thereby marginalizing their citizenship.

I believe five justices of the Supreme Court agreed with this in the Newdow case in 2004, but recognizing how tremendously unpopular the truth about this is, decided it wasn't worth the political capital and dismissed the case on a technicality.

Liz wrote:Although I'm not an Atheist, I don't really understand why it should bother an atheist that "God" is used as part of our governmental formalities (I.e. "In God we Trust" printed on money, etc.)

I know this is an extreme example, but would you have a problem if the government decided to substitute 'god' with 'allah'? How about 'santa'? how about 'FSM'? I know those are lame examples, and perhaps not comparable since you could say 'god' can mean whatever you want it to mean. However, i hope it at least makes a point that from the atheists point of view, they are all equally fictitious, and they imply a belief in some sort of all-powerful being in charge of ruling the earth.

Personally, I simply view it as a part of the uniqueness of American culture.

The country was founded by people who were religious. These same people made a conscious effort to allow people who reside here to worship who, how, and what they choose because they were fleeing from England, and were forced to be Catholics whether they liked it or not.

The country was certainly founded by SOME people who were religious. Some weren't. So what? Your last sentence is why I currently have a problem with 'god' in our government.

Sethbag wrote:The "In God We Trust" on the money doesn't really bother me too much. It's a historical artifact at this point, and I don't wish to see it go.

How is it an 'historical artifact'? It was used on some coins beginning in the latter 1/3 of the 19th century. It didn't appear on all coins until 1938. It wasn't added to paper currency till 1957.

It doesn't bother me much, but if I had to choose, I'd probably pull all that stuff out of government. There are actually a lot of Christians who want the dollar bill thing changed, since it seems to imply that money is God.

I think its entirely inappropriate.

liz3564 wrote:The country was founded by people who were religious. These same people made a conscious effort to allow people who reside here to worship who, how, and what they choose because they were fleeing from England, and were forced to be Catholics whether they liked it or not.

This is fine, but as Who Knows already noted, this god business is a much more recent addition to the american public sphere.

As long as I have money that'll be accepted in exchange for goods and services I don't care what's written on it. ;)

I don't care about the Pledge of Allegiance thing, since it's just a word that we mumble through once in a while.

I do care about the Ten Commandments being at court houses and other judicial buildings, because it may lead to the innappropriate ideas that those are actually laws or that the US Govt supports them.

But all in all, I really don't care as long as it isn't shoved in my face.

I guess I'd classify myself a hopeful agnostic. Most of the time I still believe in some sort of God, though I often have my doubts.

The mentioning of God on money, in the Pledge, or anywhere else for that matter really doesn't bother me. I've got a lot bigger things to worry about.

KA