'We are honored to be part of bringing God back into our public schools!': Texas schools begin displaying 'In God We Trust' posters in accordance with new law



The U.S. national motto is now on display in a place of prominence in many Texas public schools, thanks to a new state law.

Senate Bill 797, which was actually passed during the 2021 legislative session, compels public elementary schools, middle schools, high schools, and institutions of higher learning to display "a durable poster or framed copy" of the motto "In God We Trust" "in a conspicuous place in each building of the school."

The poster must also feature the American flag and the state flag of Texas. It also cannot contain any other "words, images, or other information."

There is one major stipulation, however: The posters or framed copies must either be given to a school by a private donor or purchased by a school using funds "from private donations."

And several Texas-based companies have happily obliged.

Patriot Mobile, a self-proclaimed "Christian conservative" wireless service provider based in Texas, has already furnished posters for every campus in the Carroll and Northwest Independent School Districts, among others. According to a company Facebook post, Patriot Mobile pledges to continue donating posters "until all the schools in the [Dallas/Fort Worth] area receive them."

"We are honored to be part of bringing God back into our public schools!" the post continues.

Private individuals are also participating in the new law. According to CNN, one private resident has donated posters for Keller ISD, also near Forth Worth.

The law was initially proposed by Sen. Bryan Hughes, a Republican from East Texas. So far, he's been pleased with the results.

"The national motto, In God We Trust, asserts our collective trust in a sovereign God," Hughes wrote on Twitter earlier this week.

Bill co-sponsor Tom Oliverson, a Houston-area Republican state representative, is likewise optimistic about the displays.

"We just felt like it was a great opportunity to display our national motto in our public schools," Oliverson said. "This was a idea I had after seeing something similar happen in a couple different states."

Oliverson also told reporters that the public response he has received regarding the bill has been positive, according to Chron. However, the bill has some vocal detractors. The Southlake Anti-Racism Coalition has openly expressed its disapproval with the measure.

"SARC is disturbed by the precedent displaying these posters in every school will set and the chilling effect this blatant intrusion of religion in what should be a secular public institution will have on the student body, especially those who do not practice the dominant Christian faith," the group said in a public statement.

Though the bill passed and was officially put into effect last September, parents, teachers, and schools were focused on re-opening after the COVID shutdown and didn't really address the new law until this year, according to the Texas Tribune.

'I don't want Jesus riding on my car': Atheists sue Mississippi​ over 'In God We Trust' license plates



Atheists in Mississippi are suing the state over its new license plates — which display the phrase, "In God We Trust" — arguing that their First Amendment rights are being violated. One group is even arguing that the phrase is rooted in "deep hostility" toward atheists.

What are the details?

On Tuesday, separation of church and state watchdog organization American Atheists, the Mississippi Humanist Association, and three atheist Mississippi residents filed a lawsuit against the state's commissioner of revenue, Chris Graham, for allegedly trampling on the rights of nonreligious residents by forcing them to display the national motto on their personal vehicles.

Since 2019, the standard license tag in Mississippi has included the phrase, "In God We Trust." As such, car owners in the state are required to display the message on their vehicles, or else pay a fee for an alternative design. Additionally, for some specialized vehicles — such as trailers and motorcycles — there are no alternative designs available.

With the lawsuit, the coalition of atheists hopes to force Mississippi to provide nonreligious residents with an alternative license plate at no extra cost.

"Wherever I use my trailer, I am forced to profess a religious idea that I do not believe," said plaintiff Jason Alan Griggs in the lawsuit. "Imagine a Christian having to drive around with 'In No God We Trust' or 'In Allah We Trust.'"

Another defendant, Derenda Hancock, who describes herself as "a radical atheist," insists the government should not have the power to violate "her right to be free from religion."

"I don't want Jesus riding on my car," she reportedly told a tag agent in January 2019. At that time, she paid the $32 for a specialty "Mississippi Blues Trail" license plate and did the same again in 2020.

What else?

American Atheists, a national organization dedicated to ensuring the complete separation of church and state, argued that the license plate stigmatizes nonreligious individuals as unpatriotic and unfairly makes them a "mouthpiece" for a cause they don't believe in.

"Every minute they spend on the streets of Mississippi, atheists are forced to act as a billboard for the state's religious message," said Geoffrey Blackwell, litigation counsel at American Atheists, in a news release. "Some can avoid being a mouthpiece for the government by paying a penalty. For many others, even that isn't possible. Atheists with a disability or a special category of vehicle are stuck proclaiming a belief in the Christian god. It's an abuse of power and unconstitutional."

The group also argued in the news release that the phrase, "In God We Trust," is "rooted in deep hostility toward atheists."

It claimed the phrase, which was first included on U.S. coins in the 1860s, was done so to "relieve [the country] from the ignominy of heathenism," according to Treasury Department records. Nearly a century later, the phrase was made the national motto in order to differentiate the U.S. from the "godless" Soviets, the group claimed.

Anything else?

As a gubernatorial candidate in 2019, Republican Gov. Tate Reeves ran a campaign ad touting the new license plates, equating "In God We Trust" with "Mississippi's values."

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