Newdow to File "In God We Trust" Suit

Newdow to File "In God We Trust" Suit Today
Written for the web by Elizabeth Bishop, Internet News Producer? ?

The Sacramento atheist who is suing local school districts to stop them from having students recite the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance has turned his attention to the nation's currency.

Attorney Michael Newdow said he will file a new lawsuit today against Congress and the U.S. Treasurer to make the government remove the words "In God We Trust" from the nation's currency. Newdow is expected to argue that the phrase violates so called "Establishment Clause" of the Constitutional, which mandates a separation of church and state.

"You know, if government came out and said God doesn't exist, that's wrong," Newdow said to News10. "I would fight that just as much. I just want government to say we don't have an opinion on religion. American citizens do whatever you want."

On Monday the U.S. Supreme Court sidestepped a dispute over whether the phrase should appear on government buildings. Attorneys representing the plaintiffs argued that the phrase is unconstitutional because it represents a religious creed, but the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals court ruled the phrase is patriotic in nature, rather than religious. The Supreme Court rejected an appeal of that ruling without comment.

The phrase first appeared on national currency because of an increase in religious sentiment during the Civil War, according to the U.S. Treasury Department. "In God We Trust" first appeared in 1864 on the two-cent coin.

In 1956, the phrase became the nation's second motto, along with E Pluribus Unum, by an act of Congress.