America’s moral fabric is under attack, and it’s a reason to celebrate.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation filed a lawsuit last month against the U.S. Treasury Department to remove the “In God We Trust” motto from all currency, declaring the national motto discriminates against nonbelievers.

I can already hear the reaction.

Devoted theists, especially among the Christian right, probably see this as an assault on the Judeo-Christian principles America was founded upon and an example of America’s slow decline. Others will likely scoff at the lawsuit, charging there are more important pursuits to burden the courts with and that atheists should get thicker skins.

However, both of these arguments are either wrong or simply miss the point.

For one, this nation was not founded to propagandize for one religion or group of religions. We are not a Christian nation, and anyone who argues against that notion misunderstands the Enlightenment philosophies that inspired our Founding Fathers.

Sadly, the Christian right has never let this go despite the historical evidence. Often, they’ll pull out a list of Founding Fathers who were Christian as if that proves their intentions, or they’ll bring out the Declaration of Independence, the document mostly written by Thomas Jefferson, a noted deist who removed all references to Jesus’ miracles and divinity in his Jefferson Bible.

The Treaty of Tripoli, a 1797 peace treaty signed by the United States under President John Adams, is often largely ignored even though it specifically states “the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion.”

So why is “In God We Trust” stamped on all of our money if it’s not what the founder’s wanted?

Well, because of the hard-work and dedication politically-connected theists have put in to subvert the secularism established by the Constitution and years of Enlightenment thought.

The first appearance of the phrase on currency occurred nearly a hundred years after the country was founded.

In 1861, Rev. M.R. Watkinson petitioned the Treasury Department to add the motto to newly minted coins to “recognize Almighty God in some form.” In 1956, Congress made it the new national motto to differentiate us from those godless commies.

Not only was the motto not used until years after the Founding Fathers’ deaths, it was also put forth for entirely religious reasons.

On the second point, I largely agree with the detractors. This issue isn’t one that ranks highly on my list of priorities, but that doesn’t mean it’s not an important issue.

In fact, I’d probably agree with those arguments if the Supreme Court didn’t throw out important cases against laws such as the FISA Amendments Act like they were no big deal. Far more important cases are thrown out all the time, so a chance for a little victory in one regard is acceptable to me.

Actually, the courts’ reasons for upholding the motto are enough to consider a change as they make some of the most spectacular jumps in logic I’ve ever read.

The overriding reason for the motto’s persistence is a legal term called “ceremonial deism.”

The term states that references to a deity in governance can, through rote repetition and tradition, erase the religious significance of that message.

However, this reasoning sucks.

The history of “In God We Trust” is based upon either “recognizing Almighty God” or distinguishing the country from the “godless communists.” In other words, its purpose is purely propagandistic and nothing more. Its creation was rooted in advancing religion by tying it with our government, and it lacks any honest secular purpose – two conditions that would deem the motto unconstitutional if the Lemon v. Kurtz legal test was sincerely followed.

The fact is the motto directly promotes monotheism to the exclusion of all polytheists and atheists, and the government’s use of the motto directly endorses that.

Unsurprisingly, no atheists have been involved in these legal decisions.

Yet, despite these reasons, I don’t expect the lawsuit to go far as atheists aren’t highly favored.

A 2003 Gallup poll found that 90 percent of the country supports the motto, a 2012 Gallup poll found that atheists were less likely to be voted president than any other group, including homosexuals and Muslims, and a 2011 study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology reported that atheists are about as trusted as rapists.

Thanks.

However, let me ask theists something: If the motto were different, if it said “In Many Gods We Trust” or “In No God We Trust,” how would you feel being bombarded with the message all the time by the government that purportedly represents your interests as well as others?

And what was wrong with “E Pluribus Unum”?

David Scheuermann is a 21-year-old journalism and computer science junior from Kenner.