The monetary maxim “In God We Trust” bears an ambiguity of divine proportions.In which god are we, as a “secular” nation, confiding our federal fiscal love?To pursue this anomaly, we must look past the contradictory nature of the above phrasing and focus instead on its anonymous “God.” Our country is littered with gods — from the deism of our founding fathers to the pantheon of modern American religions. Interpreting deistic stances in the letters and speeches of Paine and Washington can be fun, but for this column one only needs to recognize the vast diversity present in our great nation of faith — and often non-faith — both past and present.President Barack Obama has stated on numerous occasions the U.S. is not just a Christian nation, but also a Jewish nation, a Muslim nation, a Buddhist nation and a Hindu nation.And this point is indeed statistically accurate, but implications of the ideal have yet to come to fruition.The equally American Jews, Muslims, Buddhists and Hindus our president often invokes carry currency cast with a “God” that is not their own. There is no Yahweh, Allah, Buddha or any of the multitudes of Hindu deities on the bank notes of non-Christian citizens. They reside in a nation that trusts in the only true “God,” according to legal tender.But aside from the discrimination caused by this supposition, there is also some difficulty identifying the ambiguous deity gracing our greenbacks.The origins of the maxim are shrouded in a similar mystery as its directed divine being. It wasn’t until 1861 that Salmon P. Chase, secretary of the Treasury, heeded the calls from many Americans desiring a coined motto to canonize American Christendom.One such letter, bearing utmost significance, came from a Reverend M. R. Watkinson. The reverend calls for an inscription of “God” to be placed on our currency. The reason was to “relieve us from the ignominy of heathenism” and “place us openly under … Divine protection.” Secretary Chase commissioned Mint Director James Pollock seven days later to conscript what would become our official national motto.The rest is history — and “In God We Trust” has graced nearly all of our currency since the Fourth Coinage Act of 1873.Several points of conflict arise from this.If it is indeed the Judeo-Christian God that is on our money, which recognized version is it? It was the Episcopalian interpretation for Francis Scott Key and Chase. But does this stand in agreement with the founding fathers’ beliefs? The deistic god does not intervene in human affairs, so “Divine protection” is unattainable.Furthermore, Pollock’s report to the Secretary of the Treasury included the following premise: “We claim to be a Christian nation — why should we not vindicate our character by honoring the God of the Nations?” Thus, much of the original motivation behind adding “In God We Trust” to our currency is now, according to our current president  — and any demographic information — null and void.Finally, the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment prohibits Congress from making a law “respecting the establishment of a religion.” This has been brought before the Supreme Court, which ruled the word “God” as used in the motto is permissible and contains no specific “history, character and context.”Chase and Polluck would disagree — as would I. The motto was coined with a specific Judeo-Christian deity in mind. The term can be rather ambiguous, but for those who fall outside American Christianity it is certainly not Yahweh, Allah, Buddha or Krishna getting praise on their bank notes.So who is the “We” in our national motto? It is a false ideal that promotes a unanimous consensus of America’s adherence to a single and agreed upon definition of “God.”And who is the “God” in which we trust? Only Chase, Pollock and our currency now know. But by the looks of things, He is willing to take bribes.Andrew Robertson is a 23-year-old religious studies senior from Baton Rouge. Follow him on Twitter @TDR_arobertson.—–Contact Andrew Robertson at [email protected]