Fifty Years After First Appearing on Dollar Bills, "In God We Trust" Still Stirs Opposition
Oct. 1 marks the 50th anniversary of the use of the phrase "In God We Trust" on the nation's paper currency. Polls show that an overwhelming majority of Americans support the motto, but others argue it is divisive because it excludes those who don't believe in God, as well as Buddhists, Hindus and others who follow non-monotheistic faiths.
An analysis by Pew Forum Senior Research Fellow David Masci traces the use of the phrase from its conception to recent lawsuits challenging its constitutionality.
Read the analysis
|Sept. 12 - The Christian Science Monitor
Faith's Role on the Rise in Campaign '08
A survey by the Pew Forum and the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press shows most Americans (almost 70%) say they want a president with strong religious beliefs, and 38% say there has been too little talk about religious faith by politicians. Paradoxically, the front-runners in each party - Rudy Giuliani and Hillary Clinton - are currently perceived as the least religious among the candidates.
|Sept. 12 - The Washington Post
Falwell's Son Urges Conservative Pastors To Get Out the Vote
The son of the late Rev. Jerry Falwell, whose Moral Majority helped reshape the national political landscape, has vowed to pick up where his father left off and help change public policy in Virginia and Washington.
|Sept. 12 - USA Today
Most Think Founders Wanted Christian USA
A survey measuring attitudes toward freedom of religion, speech and the press found that 55% believe that the U.S. Constitution establishes a Christian nation.
|Sept. 11 - San Francisco Chronicle
Death Penalty Reinstated for 30-Year-Old Killing
A Los Angeles man's death sentence was reinstated after a federal appeals court deliberated on the propriety of a jury foreman citing biblical passages to convince his peers that capital punishment was warranted.
|Sept. 11 - Bloomberg News
Thompson Says He Won't Tout Religion on the Stump
Presidential contender Fred Thompson, who has based his campaign on appealing to conservative voters, said he isn't a regular churchgoer and doesn't plan to speak about his religion.
|Sept. 11 - The Washington Post
Islam's Up-to-Date Televangelist
Often called "the anti-bin Laden," Amr Khaled is a rock star Egyptian in a designer suit, preaching a new brand of upbeat, feel-good Islam.
|Sept. 10 - The New York Times
Prisons Purge Books on Faith From Libraries
Some inmates allege that their First Amendment rights were violated when prison chaplains systematically purged religious books and materials from chapel libraries.
|Sept. 9 - Waco Tribune-Herald
Website Sparks New Intelligent Design Battle
A Baylor University professor is fighting university officials to have the school restore his personal website in a battle some link to academic freedom and intelligent design.
|Sept. 9 - The New York Times
Defender of the Faith?
Sigmund Freud is often referred to as an atheist, but at the end of his life he broke with his earlier work and offered another perspective on religion, arguing that faith in God helped to make a rich life of introspection possible.
|Sept. 6 - The Christian Science Monitor
A Mosque in America's Heartland
A Midwest Muslim community stands out as an example of Americans shaping their Islamic practice for the place and the times they live in.
|Sept. 6 - Associated Press Newswires
Islamic Party Courts Election Victory in Moderate Morocco
Morocco forms one front in the broader battle for Islam playing out across and beyond the Arab world, between forces of moderation and extremism.