*******************************************************


                GOD ON OUR COINS


*******************************************************


          Written Statement of Jon G. Murray,
          President, American Atheists, Inc.
        7215 Cameron Road Austin, TX 78752-2973

                     submitted to

             U.S. House of Representatives
                One Hundredth Congress
     Subcommittee on Consumer Affairs and Coinage
 of the Committee on Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs

        Rep. Frank Annunzio, Illinois, Chairman


       Supplemental to oral remarks to be given
Wednesday, September 14, 1988, at 10:00 A.M. in Room
2128 Rayburn House Office Building at a hearing of the
Subcommittee on H.R. 3314, legislation "To modernize
United States circulating coin designs of which one
reverse will have a theme of the Bicentennial of the
Constitution."


*******************************************************


    Mr. Chairman and members of the Subcommittee,


        American Atheists is a nonprofit, nonpolitical,
educational organization dedicated "to advocate, labor
for, and promote in all lawful ways, the complete and
absolute separation of state and church." [FOOTNOTE:
From the "Aims and Purposes" of American Atheists as
recorded in documents of incorporation.] It is with
this purpose in mind that our interest has been drawn
to H.R. 3314, a bill "to modernize United States
circulating coin designs for which one reverse will
have a theme of the Bicentennial of the Constitution"
now under consideration by the Subcommittee on Consumer
Affairs and Coinage. American Atheists are staunch
supporters and defenders of both the letter and the
spirit of the Constitution of the United States. Our
Constitution was a pioneer document among the founding
documents of nations in that it nowhere contained a
single reference to a deity or divine inspiration.
Instead it began by rooting its authority in "We the
People," a direct and poignant departure from the
divine right of kings from which so many of our
forefathers fled to these shores. The importance of the
doctrine of separation of state and church for all
Americans cannot then be overestimated. It was the
marriage of state and church that compelled many of the
settlers and immigrants to this country to flee their
native lands and seek a country where religion was not
an integral part of the government.

       American Atheists, therefore, applauds the
introduction of H.R. 3314 in the House of
Representatives by Rep. Charles B. Rangel (D-NY), Rep.
Lindy Boggs (D-LA), Rep. Carroll A. Campbell, Jr.
(R-SC), and Rep. Thomas E. Petri (R-WI). We feel that
it is high time that the Constitution of the United
States be honored, particularly in its bicentennial
year of 1989, by the government of the United States.
We have no objection to the coins of the United States
being used as a vehicle to commemorate that
two-hundredth anniversary. Such a commemoration is
secular in nature and is in keeping with the laws of
the United States, in particular the Establishment and
Free Exercise clauses of the First Amendment.

       We do, however, object to the fact that pursuant
to 31 U.S.C. Section 324 ("Inscriptions on Coins," May
18, 1908) and 31 U.S.C. Section 324a ("Inscriptions on
Currency and Coins," July 11, 1955) the coins proposed
by H.R. 3314 would bear upon them the motto "In God We
Trust." It is our position that the inclusion of that
motto on coins and currency violates the Free Speech,
Free Exercise and Establishment clauses of the First
Amendment and the equal protection clause of the
Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution of the United
States in that it is a religious phrase showing that
the government has selected and established a
particular monotheistic type of religion. Atheists, as
other citizens, must carry with them at all times and
"present" this religious slogan, presumably as their
own, every time they purchase with cash. It, therefore,
violates the Free Exercise clause. In addition,
Atheists cannot remove this religious slogan because
there is a criminal law (18 U.S.C. Sections 331 and
333) prohibiting same, and thus they are denied the
right of free speech and equal protection under the
laws, being forced to speak the religious words of
Congress by repeatedly presenting the religious motto
and slogan adopted by the United States Congress.

       We also find it particularly inappropriate, in
conjunction with the thrust of H.R. 3314, to slander
the founding document that this bill purports to
commemorate by including such religious graffiti as the
motto "In God We Trust" along with the designs
suggested by the bill. It would be far more in keeping
with the nature of the document that H.R. 3314 seeks to
commemorate to have the coins on which such
commemoration appears remain as secular as the
Constitution itself. We would like to propose the
substitution of the phrase "E Pluribus Unum" for the
motto "In God We Trust." The historical importance of
that phrase and its origin was presented succinctly in
a paper read at the Annual Convention of the American
Numismatic Association, Buffalo, N.Y., August 23 to 28,
1930, by C. W. Foster, entitled "Origin and History of
the Two Mottoes Used on Modern United States Coins."
The following is the pertinent excerpt.


     <<                 E PLURIBUS UNUM

     <<    The phrase E Pluribus Unum is found in "In
     <