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I was taking about the 'Under God' part of the Pledge of Allegiance and "In God We Trust", first used on paper money in 1957 when it appeared on the one-dollar bill. Communism was officially atheist, and it was very useful for a predominately Christian nation to be rallied behind the war cry of god. It was a tool of propaganda.
...but it's funny you should bring up the coin thing. Do you know why in god we trust appeared on coins? During the Civil War, religious sentiment was at an all time high and was used consistently by both religious and governmental leaders (both North AND South) as a rallying point for support of the war (sound familiar?). Rev. M. R. Watkinson, Minister of the Gospel from Ridleyville, Pennsylvania, believed the times to be 'heathen', and he, a powerful religious leader, sent a letter to the Secretary of Treasury at the time, Salmon Chase, a letter strongly requesting a 'god' based theme. Luckily for the Reverend and unluckily for the separation of church and state, Salmon Chase was a deeply religious man who bought into the propaganda. This was back in 1864...what goes around comes around.
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