Group Fights Suit against “In God We Trust” Display

QUITMAN — A motion is made to toss aside a suit that claims God has no place in the courtroom. The conservative Liberty Institute calls the suit, which seeks to stop Wood County commissioners from opening sessions in prayer and displaying the motto “In God we trust,” frivolous. The institute’s Jeff McTeer says, “So, for over 200 years,
we’ve respected and acknowledged the role of religion in our society. This case is an attack on that 200-plus-year history.” But Dr. Timothy Gorsky with the North Texas Church of Freethought says not so fast. He says, “That doesn’t mean that this is legal and is not an illegal endorsement of religion, which the Constitution bars the government from doing.” He says coins and currency didn’t have “In God we trust” on them until after the Civil War.