Capitol in Dispute Over God

2 years ago

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Woman Up Editor

Under the category You Can't Make Everybody Happy comes this bulletin: the brand new $621 million Capitol Visitor Center entrance, designed to make the U.S. Capitol "more accessible, convenient, secure, and informative," has been the subject of a dispute between those who want to engrave "In God We Trust" on the freshly built walls and those who object to religious references in government.

The pro-engraving faction is led by Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina, who nearly halted the center's opening last December when he discovered the trusting God motto was not displayed in the structure. DeMint, along with California Republican Rep. Dan Lungren in the House, recently passed resolutions to require the architect of the Capitol to etch in the words. Last week, the Freedom From Religion Foundation filed a lawsuit to halt the $100,000 engraving job. The foundation, which represents atheists and agnostics, points out that the motto and the insertion of "under God" into the Pledge of Allegiance were adopted in the 1950s as anti-communist measures. The group also separately filed a legal complaint against President Obama for proclaiming the "National Day of Prayer" in May.

Filed Under: Religion

Tagged: Capitol visitor center, CapitolVisitorCenter, in god we trust, InGodWeTrust, pledge of allegiance, PledgeOfAllegiance, top stories, TopStories

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