The resolution declares that "if religion and morality are taken out of the marketplace of ideas, the very freedom on which the United States was founded cannot be secured."
Critics of the measure include the group Americans United for Separation of Church and State, which has called it "divisive and a diversion from pressing national concerns."
In a statement last week, the group's director, the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, said that "the real reason for the resolution is to curry favor with Religious Right leaders who are increasingly anxious for their Republican allies in the House to act on social issues."
"Millions of Americans believe in God and millions do not," Lynn said in the statement. "I doubt if any of them will make their decision about religious belief based on a politician's nonbinding resolution.
Lynn suggested that "E pluribus unum" -- Latin for "Out of many, one" and the nation's original, unofficial motto -- would be a better motto.
In an email to the Gazette, Capito spokeswoman Jamie Corley said the congresswoman "has always supported reaffirming 'In God We Trust' as the official motto of the United States."
McKinley plans to vote in support of the resolution and "believes this motto is a part of the foundation of what we believe as Americans and should be upheld," spokeswoman Katie Martin said in a statement.
According to the U.S. Treasury Department, "In God We Trust" was first inscribed on coins in the 1860s because of increased religious sentiment during the Civil War.
In 1956, Congress made the phrase the nation's official motto.
Reach Alison Knezevich at alis...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-1240.
Click here to read the resolution
Click here to read a history of the motto "In God We Trust"
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Rep. Nick Rahall is among federal lawmakers who want to display the words "In God We Trust" in all public schools and other government buildings.
The West Virginia Democrat helped sponsor a resolution that would reaffirm the words as the nation's official motto, and encourage the phrase to be displayed in public institutions.
Members of the House Judiciary Committee approved the measure last week, sending it to the full House of Representatives.
Twenty-two Republicans and three Democrats, including Rahall, initially sponsored the proposal when it was introduced in January.
The resolution, whose lead sponsor is Virginia Republican Randy Forbes, now has 64 co-sponsors.
West Virginia's other two U.S. representatives, Republicans Shelley Moore Capito and David McKinley, are not among those sponsors, but say they support the proposal.
In a statement to the Gazette, Rahall said Americans should "often remind ourselves about our national motto and its place and importance in our nation's past."
"The resolution quotes President Kennedy 50 years ago saying, 'The guiding principle and prayer of this nation has been, is now, and ever shall be 'In God We Trust,'" Rahall said in the statement. "It helps serve the country's future as well."
The resolution declares that "if religion and morality are taken out of the marketplace of ideas, the very freedom on which the United States was founded cannot be secured."
Critics of the measure include the group Americans United for Separation of Church and State, which has called it "divisive and a diversion from pressing national concerns."
In a statement last week, the group's director, the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, said that "the real reason for the resolution is to curry favor with Religious Right leaders who are increasingly anxious for their Republican allies in the House to act on social issues."
"Millions of Americans believe in God and millions do not," Lynn said in the statement. "I doubt if any of them will make their decision about religious belief based on a politician's nonbinding resolution.
Lynn suggested that "E pluribus unum" -- Latin for "Out of many, one" and the nation's original, unofficial motto -- would be a better motto.
In an email to the Gazette, Capito spokeswoman Jamie Corley said the congresswoman "has always supported reaffirming 'In God We Trust' as the official motto of the United States."
McKinley plans to vote in support of the resolution and "believes this motto is a part of the foundation of what we believe as Americans and should be upheld," spokeswoman Katie Martin said in a statement.
According to the U.S. Treasury Department, "In God We Trust" was first inscribed on coins in the 1860s because of increased religious sentiment during the Civil War.
In 1956, Congress made the phrase the nation's official motto.
Reach Alison Knezevich at alis...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-1240.
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