‘In God We Trust’ & ‘Under God’: Don’t blame it on the founders
‘In God We Trust’ & ‘Under God’: Don’t blame it on the founders
- Mon, Mar 9 2026 at 9:02 AM
Mark,
When Christian Nationalists argue that the United States was founded as a Christian nation, they almost always point to two familiar phrases: “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance and “In God We Trust” as our national motto and on our currency.
The implication they’re making is clear: They believe these words prove religion and government have been intertwined since our nation’s founding.
But history tells a different story. If you care about church-state separation, it’s worth looking at when and why these phrases were actually adopted.
The Pledge of Allegiance: This familiar patriotic statement was written in 1892 by the Rev. Francis Bellamy to mark the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's voyage. Bellamy’s original Pledge read:
“I pledge allegiance to my flag and to the Republic for which it stands — one nation indivisible — with liberty and justice for all.”
There was no reference to God. In fact, that phrase was added some 60 years later, long after Bellamy’s death. Only in 1954 was “under God” added after a lobbying campaign led primarily by the Knights of Columbus. They divided the indivisible with religion.
The national motto: The United States did not have an official motto for most of its history. The secular and unifying phrase “E Pluribus Unum” (Latin for “Out of Many, One”) filled that role unofficially.
“In God We Trust” did not become the national motto until July 30, 1956, when President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed it into law. The phrase would have been completely unfamiliar to our founders, and it was never enshrined in our first governing documents.
‘In God We Trust’ on U.S. money: In 1861, during the Civil War, the Rev. Mark. R. Watkinson suggested adding the phrase “God, liberty, law” to coins to “relieve us from the ignominy of heathenism.” The phrase was revised to “In God We Trust,” which first appeared on a two-cent coin minted in 1864, but it was not used uniformly on coinage.
Later, in 1907, President Theodore Roosevelt removed the phrase from some coins because he believed it was harmful, irreverent, and “dangerously close to sacrilege.” After public outcry, he reversed the decision, and it has appeared on all coins since 1938. However, Congress did not mandate the use of the motto on all paper currency until 1955, and it’s still possible to find old bills without it.
So what’s the common thread?
A pattern emerges: The Civil War and the Cold War. Christian Nationalists foisted these phrases on us during times of great fear and national crisis. Many political and religious leaders took advantage of that fear and those crises to undermine the wall of separation between church and state.
In other words, these additions were a response to specific political moments 75 years to more than 150 years after our country was founded.
So the next time Christian Nationalists use these phrases to excuse and dismiss blatant violations of church-state separation, you can remind them these “traditional” uses of religion by the state are relics from our fearful past, not evidence from our brave founding.
In solidarity,
Andrew L. Seidel
VP of Strategic Communications
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