"In God We Trust"

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What are your opinions of this motto being put on currency? Do you agree with it? Would you prefer to see it removed?


Why?

To get the thread going:

Personally, I believe it should be removed. I find that it cheapens the name by associating it with money. Not everyone is pious and will use the currency to buy whatever illicit thing they will; in so doing it is blasphemous.

Well let's see, for starters, it may be offensive to any non-Christian who decides to settle in America. Whether they are Muslim, Hindu, Shintoist, pagan or whatever, the saying may well assume that everyone who lives in America must follow the same god. Matter of fact, all currency should be a-religious and a-theistic, because everyone around the world need it to trade with, and to have a motto like that on your currency makes the earlier presupposition true. Wars have been fought over less, and people have died in these wars. Why have a slogan at all?

Why would Muslims, Hindus, et al be offended?

The use of the name God on currency by a primarily Christian nation such as America automatically implies Jehovah.

I believe it should be removed. Countries should be secular.

Of course, I'm in England, not America.

It's absolutely right and proper that it should remain there. The God of the USA (and most of the world, to be fair) is the God of Money. So it's a good reminder.

Ah, ManErg, similar, but not identical, message, posted at same moment!

To have this motto on the money of a country proud of its Christian heritage is perfectly in keeping with the teachings of the parables;

the Ten Talents which encourages investment of money and condemns private savings, ( NB: "talent" is the name of a coin, and has nothing to do with "skills/abilities")

the Workers in the vineyard advised to accept the decision of their employer in the matter of pay,

the "Wise" virgins who held onto what oil they had and would not share with those who had forgotten to bring any, because otherwise "they would not have enough".

The parables teach an attitude towards money which accords with America's. If the USA were not predominantly Christian, and worshipped a non-Christian god instead, this might not be so true.

We are so brainwashed into thinking that the parables are about "spirituality" that tend to miss the "atmosphere" sell, like in ads, where selling toothpaste also involves a nuclear family with a house and garden, pyjamas, a perfectly white toilet, happy parents, children going to school etc.

It's issues like this that make me glad Canada symbolically kept the monarchy. Most of our 'government symbology' loons end up focusing on them, and let everyone else get on with things. They make a great decoy.

I don't know as strange as this sounds it doesn't offend me personally. As long as it didn't say In Jesus we Trust or something derogartory against non-believers or believers of a different faith. Yeah I'm weird....I don't know it's just never offended me. But I'm agnostic so I don't lean to the extreme of no god or god as personified in one society if that makes any sense......

I guess mine is sort of like that Religion vs. Spirutiality thread.

It doesn't bug me either, and I am an agnostic too, I do like the saying "In god we trust, All others pay cash"

i scratch out god on every bill that passes through me. it violates the first amendment.

it wasn't even originally on the currency but added later. same with the pledge.