# Did GW Bush really do this, or is it just glurge? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 5, 2001, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-gw-bush-really-do-this-or-is-it-just-glurge/48548 "2001-01-05T07:56:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![oldscratch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ed655f/32.png) [@oldscratch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/oldscratch)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2001, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-gw-bush-really-do-this-or-is-it-just-glurge/48548/21 "2001-01-08T01:56:04Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Obvious Guy \* > \*\* > Uhhh… Does the phrase “In God we trust” mean anything to you? Are you kidding, the constitution is full of religion. \*\* Hey **Obvious Guy** you’ve missed some obvious details. I suggest you take this quiz, [http://www.ffrf.org/quiz.html](http://www.ffrf.org/quiz.html) you might learn a few things. ---
**Author:** ![jonp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d6d6ee/32.png) [@jonp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jonp)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2001, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-gw-bush-really-do-this-or-is-it-just-glurge/48548/22 "2001-01-08T06:37:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Obvious Guy \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by ronan \* > > \*\*IMHO a leader of such a multi cultured country as the USA shouldn’t be trying to convert anybody. > > > > Religion + Politics = Bad Idea \*\* > > Uhhh… Does the phrase “In God we trust” mean anything to you? Are you kidding, the constitution is full of religion. \*\* The Constitution is most certainly not “full of religion.” Read Isaac Kramnick and Laurence Moore’s The Godless Constitution for further information on this point. Better yet, I have checked a copy of the Constitution online and, according to the “Find” function on my browser, the word “God” does not appear at all. I also scanned it with my own two eyes just in case the “Find” function wasn’t working properly and I still couldn’t find the word “God.” In fact, according to Kramnick and Moore, the only reference to religion in the articles of the Constitution is: The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States. It’s possible that Obvious Guy is confusing the Constitution with the Declaration of Independence. The Declaration refers to “the Creator” and “the God of Nature,” but this does not have the force of law that the Constitution does. Kramnick and Moore also provide many quotes indicating that some contemporaries of the Founding Fathers were not happy with the Constitution, because they considered it too unreligious. The “no religious Test” clause was especially bothersome to some religious leaders, because they interpreted it (correctly) as prohibiting the government from excluding non-Christians from public office. Another comment… The original motto of the United States is “E Pluribus Unum” or “Out of Many One.” “In God We Trust” never appeared on American currency until 1864 on a 2-cent piece. “In God We Trust” did not appear on a year-by-year basis on coins until 1908. Congress did not change the national motto to “In God We Trust” until 1956 at the height of the Cold War. “In God We Trust” didn’t appear on money until 1957. ---
**Author:** ![jonp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d6d6ee/32.png) [@jonp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jonp)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2001, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-gw-bush-really-do-this-or-is-it-just-glurge/48548/23 "2001-01-08T06:48:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jonp \* > “In God We Trust” didn’t appear on money until 1957. > \*\* Oops, I meant to say: “In God We Trust” didn’t appear on paper money until 1957. ---
**Author:** ![ronan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/3ec8ea/32.png) [@ronan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ronan)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2001, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-gw-bush-really-do-this-or-is-it-just-glurge/48548/24 "2001-01-08T12:01:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Obvious Guy \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by ronan \* > > \*\*IMHO a leader of such a multi cultured country as the USA shouldn’t be trying to convert anybody. > > > > Religion + Politics = Bad Idea \*\* > > Uhhh… Does the phrase “In God we trust” mean anything to you? Are you kidding, the constitution is full of religion. \*\* No “In God we trust” means absouloutly nothing to me, not being an American this all just seems silly, a bit like the US electorial system. ---
**Author:** ![Adolph\_Peewee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e47c2d/32.png) [@Adolph\_Peewee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Adolph_Peewee)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2001, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-gw-bush-really-do-this-or-is-it-just-glurge/48548/25 "2001-01-09T14:23:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Obvious Guy \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by ronan \* > > \*\*IMHO a leader of such a multi cultured country as the USA shouldn’t be trying to convert anybody. > > > > Religion + Politics = Bad Idea \*\* > > Uhhh… Does the phrase “In God we trust” mean anything to you? Are you kidding, the constitution is full of religion. \*\* 'scuse me…but aren’t most western society values based on a christian background? ---
**Author:** ![Adolph\_Peewee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e47c2d/32.png) [@Adolph\_Peewee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Adolph_Peewee)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2001, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-gw-bush-really-do-this-or-is-it-just-glurge/48548/26 "2001-01-09T14:25:45Z")
that was meant to read \*\*\* 'scuse me…but aren’t most western society laws based on a christian background? ---
**Author:** ![manhattan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manhattan/32/7_2.png) [@manhattan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manhattan)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2001, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-gw-bush-really-do-this-or-is-it-just-glurge/48548/27 "2001-01-09T16:10:53Z")
Take it to Great Debates, folks. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2001, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-gw-bush-really-do-this-or-is-it-just-glurge/48548/28 "2001-01-28T06:36:58Z")
Snopes now debunks this story. Go there and look in “Currently Circulating.” ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2001, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-gw-bush-really-do-this-or-is-it-just-glurge/48548/29 "2001-01-28T06:59:01Z")
here’s the link (appropriately enough, in the Glurge Gallery): [http://www.snopes.com/glurge/bushpray.htm](http://www.snopes.com/glurge/bushpray.htm) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-gw-bush-really-do-this-or-is-it-just-glurge/48548.md?page=1)