Jun 24, 2014 By Eric Morris, For The Greene County Messenger 5 min read

The national motto “In God We Trust” could find its way into the classrooms and hallways of area public schools in the near future.

The state House of Representatives voted on June 2 to pass a bill that would allow public schools to display the motto — as well as the Bill of Rights — in classrooms and other areas of the buildings.

The bill, known as the National Motto Display Act, is currently waiting to be reviewed by the state Senate.

Brownsville Area School Board President R.W. “Rocky” Brashear said he is in favor of the bill and that the board would likely consider implementing the motto in its schools if the bill is passed into law.

“I’m 120 percent for it,” Brashear said. “We haven’t discussed it, but I’m in favor of it.

“We’ll follow the law. If the law says we can do that (display the motto), then we’ll probably consider it.”

All six state representatives of Fayette and Greene counties voted in favor of the bill, which was amended from its original form that mandated that “In God We Trust” be posted.

Had the original wording of the billed stayed intact, school districts would have been forced to purchase the signage to display the motto.

State Rep. Pam Snyder, D-Jefferson, said she voted in favor of the bill because it allows school districts the power to decide if they want to display the motto.

“I voted yes (to the measure) because the bill was amended to say ‘may’ instead of ‘shall’,” said Snyder. “It’s not a mandate.

“If the bill would have stayed as it was, I probably would have voted no because it would have been an unfunded mandate,” she said. “As a former county commissioner, I am against unfunded mandates of any kind that affect municipalities and school districts. That’s why we have school directors to decide what they want for their districts.”

The measure passed on a lopsided 172-24 vote.

As stated in the bill, the proposal was made to promote the motto’s significance to the history and heritage of the United States.

“In God We Trust” has appeared on U.S. currency for 150 years and was adopted as the national motto by Congress and President Dwight Eisenhower in 1956.

The Rev. Ewing Marietta of Liberty Baptist Church in North Union Township and member of Thou Shalt Not Move grassroots religious advocacy movement said the motto should be displayed for its historical significance.

“It just makes way too much sense,” Marietta said. “It tells a story in those four words. It tells about our ancestors and what they believed in.”

Marietta cites historical figures such as George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Roosevelt as American leaders who cited God in their public speeches.

“Is it wrong that they trusted in God? Absolutely not,” he said. “It’s not promoting religion. It’s promoting that they had a trust in God and that’s what this nation was founded upon.”

Marietta plans to petition to Congress for the protection of a number of religious symbols — including religious quotes, the motto “In God We Trust”, biblical displays, Ten Commandments displays, the song “God Bless America” and publicly displayed crosses — so that they may be preserved for their historical significance to the heritage of U.S. citizens.

“This is our heritage of the United States of America. To me, it’s just part of a history,” he said. “It shouldn’t be that big of a deal.”

However, Annie Laurie Gaylor, co-president of Freedom From Religion Foundation headquartered in Madison, Wis., said displaying the motto in public schools is “religiously predatory,” regardless of its history.

“We think this is a very bad idea,” Gaylor said. “This (promotion of the motto) comes from a religious point of view. It’s inflicting religion on children.

“The framers of our constitution adopted a constitution that doesn’t have religion in it,” she said, noting the intention of the country’s founding fathers to separate church and state. “The nation shouldn’t have a motto that is inappropriate to put in a public school.”

Gaylor said the push to get “In God We Trust” displayed in public schools began a decade ago in Mississippi. Since then, many states have passed bills similar to the bill passed by the House.

She also noted that 20 percent of Americans today are nonreligious, including one-third of young people.

“At that point, the motto ‘In God We Trust’ isn’t even accurate. And people should understand that,” said Gaylor.

Gaylor said if the bill passed in Pennsylvania, it could give the FFRF the opportunity to take the piece of legislation before the Third Circuit Court of Appeals to protest its constitutionality.

Several circuit courts of appeals have ruled in recent years that displaying the motto is constitutional as long as the purpose is to advance or endorse the national motto rather than a religious belief.

A Senate Republican spokesman said there is currently no timetable for the bill to be considered.