In January 2011, I introduced H.Con.Res.13, to reaffirm 'In God We Trust' as our national motto and encourage its display in public building and government institutions.  Since that point, the bill has gained 64 bipartisan cosponsors and was reported favorably out of the House Judiciary Committee in March of 2011. And this week, the resolution will be brought to the floor of House of Representatives for a vote.

“In God We Trust” has been our official national motto for over five decades, and it has been a pivotal part of our nation’s history for even longer.  So is it important that we reaffirm “In God We Trust” as our national motto? There are five reasons:

President Obama inaccurately proclaims "E Pluribus Unum' our national motto.  Last November before a worldwide audience, in a much-anticipated and much-publicized speech focusing on the United States' relationship with the Muslim world, President Obama falsely proclaimed that our national motto was E pluribus unum. In reaction, 42 bipartisan Members of Congress wrote a letter calling on the President to correct his inaccurate statement, noting that the official national motto is In God We Trust. Not only did the President fail to issue a correction, he has failed to even respond to the letter. The uncorrected transcript of the Jakarta speech in which President Obama states, "In the United States, our motto is E pluribus unum -- out of many, one" remains on the White House website.  E pluribus unum has never been the motto of the United States.

Misunderstanding of the phrase "Separation of Church and State".  The First Amendment to the Constitution reads, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”   The words ‘separation of church and state’ do not appear in the U.S. Constitution.  Rather, the phrase originates from a letter penned by Thomas Jefferson on January 1, 1802, to the Danbury Baptist Association.  In fact, just two days after sending this letter, on January 3, 1802, President Thomas Jefferson attended a church service in the U.S. Capitol. The Supreme Court has held, “The First Amendment, however, does not say that in every and all respects there shall be a separation of Church and State. . . We find no constitutional requirement which makes it necessary for government to be hostile to religion.” 

Rogue Court Challenges.  Even despite the constitutionality of “In God We Trust” being established by the courts, just since 1996 there have been 7 direct court challenges to the motto. These cases are not isolated to one area of the country; instead, one-third of our federal circuit courts across the United States have heard appeals challenging “In God We Trust”.   Some groups bringing these challenges directly seek "freedom from religion," a goal which grossly distorts the constitutionally-granted "freedom of religion." These cases have sought to challenge the motto itself, as well as its inscription on our currency and display on public buildings. In every case, the courts have upheld the constitutionality of the national motto.  Other court challenges have been brought in recent years aimed at prayer in school, the long-standing displays of crosses at veteran’s memorials, the words ‘under God’ in the Pledge of Allegiance, the National Day of Prayer, and the words ‘so help me God,’ frequently used to conclude the presidential oath of office. 

Inaccuracies and Omissions in the Half-Billion-Dollar Capitol Visitor Center.  In 2008, the over half-billion dollar Capitol Visitor Center opened for the purpose of educating over 15,000 Capitol visitors daily on the “legislative process as well as the history and development of the architecture and art of the U.S. Capitol.”  When finally opened, however, Capitol Visitor Center historians had sanitized the public building of any references to our national motto, including replacing the inscription of ‘In God We Trust,’ inscribed above the Speaker’s Rostrum with stars in a replica of the House Chamber and cropping an actual picture of the chamber so you could not see the words ‘In God We Trust.’  Additionally, a plaque was placed in the Visitors Center falsely "educating" visitors the national motto was “E Pluribus Unum.”  Only after Members of Congress intervened publically and legislatively were these omissions and inaccuracies corrected. 

Efforts to Remove God from Public Domain.  In recent years unelected government bureaucrats have become increasingly apt to remove, obscure, or bar references to God or our national motto, even when their actions reverse decades of long-standing traditions.  In most cases, congressional intervention and pressure was required to reverse the decision. 

• The Department of Veterans Affairs attempted to ban flag folding recitations at military funerals that referenced God or religion, even if specifically requested by the family of the deceased.
• The U.S. Mint attempted to remove the inscription "In God We Trust" from the front of the new Presidential dollar and instead print it on the edge of the coin.  
• The National Park Service attempted to turn a capstone replica of the Washington Monument, bearing the inscription "Laus Deo" or "Praise be to God" so the public could not read it.
• The Navy and Air Force attempted to enact policies that would have affected the ability of military chaplains to pray according to their religious conscience.
• The Architect of the Capitol refused a teen's request for a certificate noting his grandfather's "love of God, country and family" to accompany a souvenir flag that had flown over the building - a decision that would have prohibited even the Pledge of Allegiance from being printed on the flag certificates.

WHO: Congressman J. Randy Forbes (VA-04),
co-Chairman of the Congressional Prayer Caucus

WHAT: FoxNews Channel’s “Fox and Friends” interview

TOPIC: Vanderbilt University's treatment of campus religious groups

WHEN: Thursday, October 20, 2011 at 6:50 AM (EST)

 On October 6, 2011, Congressman Randy Forbes led 22 Members of Congress in sending a letter to Chancellor Nicholas Zeppos of Vanderbilt University, urging him to ensure that the school’s nondiscrimination policy is not being interpreted in a manner that discriminates against religious student groups. Several religious student organizations at Vanderbilt University, including the Christian Legal Society and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, were placed on “provisional status” for requiring their student leaders to share the groups’ religious beliefs. Student organizations need official university approval in order to use school meeting rooms and facilities; access university listserves, groupmail, and web space; and use office space and equipment in the university’s student center. 

Members of the Congressional Prayer Caucus are dedicated to protecting religious freedom in our nation.  More information on the Congressional Prayer Caucus is available here: http://forbes.house.gov/PrayerCaucus/.

Over the past couple of weeks, I have delivered speeches on the floor of the House of Representatives to recognize the importance of prayer throughout America's history by reading proclamations delivered by our nation’s leaders.  

John Hancock's proclamation in 1791 declared a day of Public Thanksgiving calling upon the people of Massachusetts to "to assemble on the said Day—and in the name of the Great Mediator, devoutly and sincerely offer to Almighty God, the gratitude of [their] Hearts, for all his goodness towards [them].”   

Watch Congressman Forbes' Remarks 
Read the Full Proclamation by John Hancock

In 1844, John Chambers issued a proclamation declaring a day of Thanksgiving “have deemed it proper to recommend...as a day of general Thanksgiving to Almighty God for the many and great blessings we enjoy as a people and individually, and of prayer and supplication for the continuance of his mercy and goodness towards us; and for the prosperity, happiness and ultimate salvation of the American people." 

Watch Congressman Forbes' Remarks 
Read the Full Proclamation by John Chambers 

I recently shared with you that I had joined with 107 Members of Congress in sending a letter to NBC Universal expressing our disapproval over the network twice-editing the words “under God” from a video montage that aired during the U.S. Open.

The letter asked what steps NBC has taken to prevent America’s religious heritage from being obscured in that manner again, and it requested that NBC implement a policy to ensure that the Pledge of Allegiance is not altered in future broadcasts.

Last week, we received a response from NBC Universal. I thought you might be interested in reading the text of their letter. You can see the original copy here.

Dear Representatives Forbes and McIntyre:

Steve Burke has asked me to respond to your letter of June 24, 2011, expressing your concerns regarding the opening of our U.S. Open coverage on June 19, 2011, concerns we fully understand and share.

Our intent for the opening feature of the final round of the U.S. Open was to produce a patriotic piece keyed off the fact that our national golf championship was being played in our nation’s capital.  Unfortunately, a serious error in judgment was made by a small group of people. To be absolutely clear, this was not an ideological decision by the company and it was not discussed with or approved by any senior NBCUniversal official.

We have made quite clear – internally and externally – that the employees who made this decision were wrong. Not only were countless citizens justifiably upset, but also the actions of this small group cast a negative light on NBCUniversal, NBC, and NBC Sports, as well as our partners at the United States Golf Association. It was an inexcusable mistake in judgment and it will not be repeated.

As you noted in your letter, once senior management became aware of the issue, we immediately acknowledged our mistake on the air to a national audience and apologized – long before this became a well known incident. We also prepared a written apology and have made every effort to respond to every letter, email, and phone call reiterating our regret.

We are taking steps to prevent similar mistakes in the future. The employees involved have been reprimanded. And we have already implemented a new checks and balances process for preproduced pieces, ensuring that nothing will go on the air without senior-level approval, including and up to the executive in charge of production at any event.

We are confident that taking these steps will prevent further incidents and we are hopeful that our apologies will be accepted.

Sincerely,

Kyle McSlarrow
President, Comcast and NBCUniversal, Washington, DC

At the beginning of NBC’s broadcast of the final round of the U.S. Open golf tournament this month, the network played a video montage of children reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. The problem with the video montage was what was not included: NBC twice edited out the words “under God” from the national pledge. If you have not yet seen the video of the omission, you can view it here:

The video montage containing the omissions intended to celebrate American patriotism. Instead, it alienated millions of viewers who place great value on all of our nation’s proud history – including its religious heritage.

Although NBC apologized for the omission, I am concerned that the back-to-back omissions were not inadvertent.  It is also disturbing that the altered Pledge of Allegiance was allowed to air in the first place.

This week, I joined with 107 other Members of Congress in sending a bipartisan letter to NBC expressing our concern.  The letter to NBCUniversal CEO Stephen Burke states:

We live in a society where there are increasing efforts to remove all mention of religion from public life, and we remain dedicated to defending against such attempts.  As a key player in shaping the national dialogue through various media outlets, we are interested to know what steps NBC has taken to prevent America’s religious heritage from being obscured in this manner.  We request that you implement a policy to ensure that the Pledge of Allegiance is not altered in future broadcasts.

You can read the full letter here.

Weigh in on this issue: Are you concerned that a major media network advertently edited out the words “under God” from our Pledge of Allegiance? Do you believe we are beginning to see an increasing trend to attempt to remove mentions of religion from public life? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.