The response to previous petitions of this nature has been that religious dialogue should always have a place in the public sphere; we couldn't agree more! Religious speech is clearly protected by the First Amendment.
However, the reason many religious and non-religious persons find these phrases disturbing is because they illicit both tacit and explicit endorsements of a particular religious viewpoint by American citizens.
If you don't believe this is so, try changing the words to "In God We Don't Trust" and "Not Under God." Clearly, this would also be unacceptable.
We feel that the only way to avoid violating the Establishment Clause is for the federal government to remove these phrases added so inappropriately in 1954 and 1956.



