The Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF), along with 19 other plaintiffs sued the U.S. Treasury for stamping “In God We Trust” on currency. Honorary FFRF board member, Mike Newdow, acted as legal counsel in the suit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on February 1, 2013.
“In God We Trust” was first added to coins during the Civil War and then to all currency in the 1950s. The plaintiffs allege that the religious verbiage is proselytizing, discriminatory and a per se establishment of monotheism in violation of the Establishment Clause.
On September 9, 2013 the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled against FFRF and the other plaintiffs. The court ruled that “the inclusion of the motto on currency [did] not present a violation to the Free Exercise Clause or RFRA.” FFRF appealed this decision to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.
On May 28, 2014 the Second Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the district court’s decision. The decision stated “We conclude that the statutes at issue do not violate the Establishment Clause or the Free Exercise Clause and RFRA because they do not have a religious purpose or advance religion, nor do they place a substantial burden on appellants’ religious practices.”
