‘In God We Trust’ May Get a Home in Colo. Schools

In another dispute over the role of religion in public schools, the Colorado Board of Education plans today to consider whether the motto “In God we trust” should be displayed in schools.

The chairman of the board, Clair Orr, has said schools need a reminder of moral standards, and his supporters point out that the phrase is already on coins children carry in their pockets.

But opponents claim the plan is a veiled attempt to reintroduce religion in schools after other efforts have failed. The Colorado Legislature this year refused to require schools to post the Ten Commandments, and last month, the U.S. Supreme Court banned prayers at high school football games.

“I see this as part of a plan by the religious right. If they can’t get the Ten Commandments, this year they will settle for ‘In God we trust’ and next year they will go for the Ten Commandments,” said Rabbi Steven Foster, a member of the Denver Interfaith Alliance, a group that opposes religion in public schools.

The Colorado plan calls for a nonbinding resolution that would say “In God we trust” should be posted in schools but would not require it. The seven members of the Board of Education are scheduled to debate the proposal today.

Supporters of the plan say they simply want to provide a moral compass for students.

“We’re not waving our Bibles at anyone,” said Don Swarthout, a nondenominational pastor who also led a rally to support the posting of the commandments in Colorado. “We just see a trend toward something we think is perhaps dangerous. The courts and politicians have shot down our standards, and now it’s whatever you want to do: no rules, no fear.”

Three states--Kentucky, Ohio and South Dakota--have approved posting the Ten Commandments, and eight more are considering it. Other states have had clashes on church and state issues ranging from mottoes to nativity scenes.

In April, a federal appeals court found that Ohio’s motto, “With God, all things are possible”--a quote from the New Testament--is unconstitutional.

Kenneth Johnson, a Methodist minister who is leading the fight to keep Ohio’s motto, said he finds it difficult to believe anyone would object to “In God we trust,” which Congress approved for the nation’s currency in 1864 following a request from a member of the clergy.

Courts have ruled that the motto can appear on coins and currency.