"E pluribus unum" is a basic philosophy of our country. "Out of many, one" -- all of these states are supposed to unite together.

Besides, the use of "In God We Trust" didn't start until the Civil War, and its use on paper bills didn't start until around 1960. Not a huge tradition there.

Is that really how it is in the u.s. though? Try telling that to anyone who has ever been accosted by a representative of any number of christian organizations attempting to convert random heathens to the lord's good word, or anyone who doesn't want to learn about creationism and/or intelligent design in a science class, or anyone who wants to buy alcohol on a sunday.

Filth it's called Wisconsin :icare:

If an independant orginazation approaches someone, it has nothing to do with the gov't whatsoever. And learning creationism in non-religious schools doesn't happen to my knowledge (ID is a different thing alltogether). And as for buying alchohol on a sunday, it goes back to this country being founded on a Puritain/Christian moral set. The majority of the people at one time or another decided that alchohol on Sunday was bad, so it was banned. The fact that the laws probably have a religious basis is irrelevant. That doesn't actively attempt to convert anyone, it just means people have to live up to a standard that they don't possibly agree with (same with many societies).

I didn't realize that this had been debated in the US so much.

The sad thing is that I'll bet the comment got translated in the Arab world much more than any subsequent debates. Regardless of his intentions - this really bothered me. It was a stupid, clumsy thing to say.

He's supposed to have a history degree yes?

Speaking as somebody living outside the US - the term "God Bless America" sounds offensive and arrogant.

If there is a god, why would he/she/it treat the US and its people better. Does it deserve better treatment? Are people still equal regardless? Should countries without god's blessing get equal votes in the UN?

I suppose this is just another case though of speeches mean for local political purposes (and audiences) being offensive when shown externally. I guess it happens with all democratic countries in some form.

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Can somebody explain to me please, why God's name can be on money if there is no proof he exists?? I simply don't understand it. I do believe in God and I see no problem with that being on money. I am just curious. :hmm:

Well, there are a couple arguments going around. The church/state separation argument has been done to death, so I'll ignore all of that. The 'seems arrogant if you're outside the US', however, is an interesting issue. Of course, a lot depends on interpretation/translation, but I don't think there's any need to be offended.

1. 'God Bless America', as some have mentioned, is basically a short prayer. When an English-speaking Christian goes to bed, it's not unusual for a prayer to include "God bless Mom and Dad and all my friends." Is this kind of prayer selfish, because it doesn't include a blessing for suffering North Koreans? Probably so, but not to any outrageous extent--it's quite normal to ask for blessings for those nearest to you. I can't quite see how this could be interpreted as arrogance unless there is a language/cultural barrier (which there very well may be). EDIT: On the other hand, consider a bumper sticker saying "God Bless America." Instead of being a personal plea to God, it's becomes, in that context, something quite different, like you're telling people "God Blesses America." I could see being offended by that. HOWEVER, also consider if you saw someone with a bumper sticker that said "God Bless Mom and Dad." Would you think that it meant "God Blesses Mom and Dad?" Probably not. You'd think it meant "I love Mom and Dad very much, bless them!" So the whole phrase is actually a strange one, open to many different interpretations:

*God, please bless America.
*God blesses America (over other countries, possibly).
*I love America, bless its heart!

2. "In God We Trust" to me seems like a prayer as well, but of a slightly different type. When someone boards a plane to go on a long journey, a typical way to send them off is to say "Godspeed", meaning basically, all sorts of crazy natural disasters could affect the journey, but I trust that God will see you through. I bet this is kind of meaning we can attribute to 'in God we trust.' America is going off on some uncharted path into the future (as are all countries), and so it's kind of acknowledging that all sorts of crazy disasters may be in store, but that God is in charge and has a long-term plan for everything. I have trouble seeing how this motto could be interpreted as arrogance under any circumstances.

vermin,
The founding fathers where not strong christian moralists. They were deiests, and Masons. (They often used religious arguments in the Federalist Papers to sell the new govenment to the population, however, which is where alot of the modern confusion arises from.)
This means in essence that they were VERY serious about keeping the country out of the hands of any one church.
This actually makes alot more sense when you examine history from THIER perspective.
You see, most of us do not see what the big deal is because we have never lived through a holy war. The FFs would have been all to familiar with religion as a motivator for murder and mayhem.
Also, most people came to the US to get away from the reformation/counter reformation wars. The C.o.E. was good for england, but suppressed all minorities, which was no fun for them. (IE, the puritans)
This is what the FFs were trying to avoid.