'In God We Trust' pressed for schools By Debbie Howlett, USA TODAY By Barry Beard, Hattiesburg American via AP A poster goes up last May at Hattiesburg (Miss.) High School. Patriotic fervor in the wake of the terrorist attacks has helped revive an effort to post the words "In God We Trust" in every school in the nation. "This has exploded because of 9/11," says Donald Wildmon, president of the American Family Association. Leaders of the fundamentalist Christian group have been working for three years to persuade states to display the national motto in school libraries, cafeterias and classrooms. The group even pledged to defend in court any legal challenges to new state laws that would allow the display, and to supply schools with 11-by-14-inch "In God We Trust" posters suitable for framing. Mississippi had been the only state to pass such a law. But three months after the terrorist attacks, Michigan adopted the requirement as part of homeland security legislation. At least eight more states are poised to pass similar measures  over the objections of those who say such displays would violate the separation of church and state. "This is no more than a means to get religion in the schools through the back door," says Larry Spalding of the Florida chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, which has not yet formally challenged any of the laws. Wildmon, however, says the motto is appropriate for schools, courthouses or any public building because it is a government statement and therefore secular, not religious. "If somebody has problems with it," Wildmon says, "they should take it up with Congress," which designated the phrase as the national motto. In state legislatures: The South Carolina House last week approved a homeland security package that includes displaying the motto. The plan now goes to the state Senate.

Utah lawmakers will take up legislation next week.

Bills also are moving through statehouses in Arizona, Florida, Indiana, Louisiana, New Jersey and Virginia. "A wave of patriotism has swept the country," says Republican South Carolina state Rep. Chip Campsen, chairman of the committee that recommended the bill. "We get sobered by events like 9/11, and that sobering brings about reflection on what virtues provide a foundation for a thriving republic." For all the patriotic fervor now, the idea of posting the motto was met with skepticism not long ago. Lawmakers in both parties were unwilling to stir rancor over a relatively minor bill. In almost every case where legislation was introduced, it died in committee. "Certainly it's not a new issue," says Michelle Exstrom, education analyst for the National Conference of State Legislatures. "It's just been cast in a different light." Federal lawmakers adopted "In God We Trust" as the national motto in 1956. It replaced "E Pluribus Unum," which means "From Many, One." The words come from the 91st Psalm. Former Florida congressman Charles Bennett, 91, recalls little controversy when he sponsored legislation calling for the switch in 1956. But Bennett isn't sure there is much benefit to simply posting it in the nation's schools. "For the motto to be meaningful it's got to be an operating philosophy in our lives," he says, "not just a plaque."