Texas is leading the charge to restore historical expressions of faith and patriotism by encouraging “In God We Trust” signs in public schools, which under the Supreme Court’s recent Kennedy decision is almost certain to withstand any legal challenges.
The Lone Star State is pushing back against leftwing secularists, as the legislature passed SB 797, a law that allows the signs to be posted on school walls when those signs are donated, such as by the company Patriot Mobile. The signs are now going up in Houston, Dallas, Ft. Worth, and elsewhere across Texas.
The Supreme Court decided Kennedy v. Bremerton School District in June. One of the court’s holdings in that landmark religious liberty case is that the Establishment Clause – the First Amendment provision that prohibits the federal government from creating a national religion that all Americans must join – must be interpreted according to its historical meaning. In other words, the sorts of stuff that would be establishing a state religion in 1791 is barred by the Establishment Clause, and anything allowed in 1791 should still be allowed today.
Congress adopted “In God We Trust” as the National Motto in 1956. But expressions like that were common from the founding of the United States until recent times.
Benign expressions of faith that convey nondenominational beliefs in a Divine Being who is all-present, all-powerful, and benevolent were ubiquitous at the time of the Founding Fathers. George Washington finished his Inaugural Oath with “so help me God.” The First Congress passed laws creating the offices of House Chaplain and Senate Chaplain, and has always opened every daily session in prayer since 1789, a tradition likewise followed by state and local legislatures. The military has always had chaplains. And displays of the Ten Commandments and crosses in government buildings – including the Supreme Court – and military cemeteries can be found everywhere.