The law is part of the nationwide legislative push by Project Blitz, which is a stealth campaign to inject religious bills into state legislatures across the country. The motto insultingly confuses patriotism with piety, a perception that has bred discriminatory attitudes toward nonbelievers. These laws are about advancing the big lie that the United States was “founded on God” or Christianity, thus dismantling the wall between religion and government.

The historical reality is quite to the contrary. “In God We Trust” was belatedly adopted as a motto when President Eisenhower signed legislation at the behest of the Knights of Columbus and other religious entities, which undertook a national lobbying campaign during the height of 1950s zealotry. What especially reveals the disgracefulness of this era is the fact that many prominent Founders of our country were deists and promoters of the Enlightenment. Our nation’s original motto, E Pluribus Unum [out of many, come one], chosen by the distinguished committee of Jefferson, Adams and Franklin, fosters the concept of unity. “In God We Trust” is a completely inappropriate motto for our nation, given the fact that the U.S. Constitution is itself godless, and the document’s only references to religion are exclusionary, such as barring any religious test for public office.