In God We Trust

This is a response to a question asked in LinkedIn's Government Policy section. Here's the question as posed by Manny U.:

"In God We Trust"

Why so many folks in US trying to remove GOD from various places such as: "In God We Trust" Removal from currency "God Bless America" Removal from Schools You can include removal of prayer in certain places like schools, the Ten Commandments from public buildings, and other expressions of religious belief in the public display. Although I'm not a Christian I do believe that now is the time we need GOD the most.

And here's my response:

The first amendment states that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." The issue at hand is what constitutes an establishment of religion? Do the words "In God We Trust" constitute a federal endorsement of a specific religion? Historians will tell you that the founders were not just deists, but mostly Christians, and they are right. However, that is beside the point, as "In God We Trust" was not a motto adopted by the Founders, but instead by Congress in 1956. This motto has nothing to do with the constitution, and it never has. Religion within the public square should not be banned (and for those of you who are wondering by now, I am not a christian, jew or muslim. I do not believe in the existence of a single all encompassing deity. However, I do find significant value in the teachings of many "religious" traditions.) The first amendment also protects our right to assemble peacefully, it makes no prohibition against religious gatherings. The first amendment simply prohibits Congress from establishing a federal religion which all of it's citizens must adhere to. It does not prevent individuals (including individuals within the government) from expressing and endorsing their own religious beliefs, it prevents them from making it mandatory. I am not against prayer in public schools, nor am I against the teaching of religious history in schools. Children must be taught to understand the workings of the world in which they live, and that includes religion for better or worse. Removing religion from education makes little sense. I am not advocating moving sunday school into the public school system, but I certainly believe that children should be taught the traditions of all religions so that they are better prepared to understand different cultures as well as their own. Religion has played (and will continue to play) a significant role in our world, any attempt to remove it from public life is needless (not to mention useless). The first amendment gives us all the right to speak our mind, practice our own religion, gather with others to discuss our beliefs and petition the government to address the problems that we face as a people. Prohibiting any of these practices makes all of them ineffective. I do not believe that we "need" god any more now than we have in the past. What we need more than ever is understanding of our fellow world citizens and the ability to communicate our point of view in a peaceful setting, as opposed to trying to enforce our point of view with the barrel of a gun. Removing religious iconography from buildings is an insult to our country's past. Like it or not religion is an important aspect of our social discourse. Whether or not we agree on one religion, we should at least be able to reach a point where we can all agree to disagree and respect opposing viewpoints.

You may or may not care, I don't know. Just thought I would share my viewpoint on the subject. Agree? Disagree? Let me know.