Eli5: why does US currency still have “in god we trust” written on it even though church and state are supposed to be separate?
In: Economics
The name for this is called [Ceremonial Deism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceremonial_deism). The idea is that the phrase is supposed to be so removed from any actual religious meaning that it’s not actually a violation of the Establishments Clause respecting a specific religion over others. From the US Supreme Court in 1984:
> … I would suggest that such practices as the designation of “In God We Trust” as our national motto, or the references to God contained in the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag can best be understood, in Dean Rostow’s apt phrase, as a form a “ceremonial deism,” protected from Establishment Clause scrutiny chiefly because they have lost through rote repetition any significant religious content.
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