# "In God We Trust" required in all Louisiana Classrooms **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 4, 2023, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-god-we-trust-required-in-all-louisiana-classrooms/988052 "2023-08-04T16:34:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2023, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-god-we-trust-required-in-all-louisiana-classrooms/988052/1 "2023-08-04T16:34:41Z")
This really pisses me off. How would I explain this to my kids? You go to school to learn, but you must do so under a poster embracing a false myth. > **[Louisiana public schools now required to display 'In God We Trust' in all...](https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/02/us/louisiana-public-schools-in-god-we-trust/index.html)** > > All Louisiana public schools are now required to display the national motto of “In God We Trust” inside of classrooms, under a new law that went into effect on August 1. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2023, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-god-we-trust-required-in-all-louisiana-classrooms/988052/2 "2023-08-04T16:38:21Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > How would I explain this to my kids? “We live in a regressive, theocratic state. Christian Nationalists use their position of power to abuse the rest of us.” ---
**Author:** ![Mallard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Mallard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mallard)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2023, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-god-we-trust-required-in-all-louisiana-classrooms/988052/3 "2023-08-04T16:38:24Z")
They should just add “and all others must pay cash” and then it wouldn’t be so objectionable, IMHO. 🤑 ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2023, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-god-we-trust-required-in-all-louisiana-classrooms/988052/4 "2023-08-04T16:39:37Z")
Next up, change the school motto to “Where cotton’s king and men are chattels, Union boys will win the battles” ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2023, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-god-we-trust-required-in-all-louisiana-classrooms/988052/5 "2023-08-04T17:15:24Z")
Could they just tape a penny to the wall? ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2023, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-god-we-trust-required-in-all-louisiana-classrooms/988052/6 "2023-08-04T20:26:42Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > a false myth Point of order: religion involves myth, but the terms are not synonymous. Myths are, by definition, not literal / scientific truth. Therefore “false myth” is redundant at best, and at worst implying that some other myths are true—they aren’t (except within a given society, where they are accepted as true). What the poster embraces is an unscientific world view. I think, in the era of climate change, that view is exceedingly harmful. People who believe in a benevolent deity that could magically solve our problems are that much less motivated to solve our problems. I’m all for myths, and tentatively positive on religion depending on how it’s practiced, but I agree that it’s really harmful when educational authorities promote myth and religious beliefs, even passively. That said, how is it different from having this stupid motto on our coins etc., and how it is different from forcing kids to say the Pledge of Allegiance (with its “under God”) every day? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2023, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-god-we-trust-required-in-all-louisiana-classrooms/988052/7 "2023-08-04T20:28:06Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > That said, how is it different from having this stupid motto on our coins etc., and how it is different from forcing kids to say the Pledge of Allegiance (with its “under God”) every day? If it didn’t make that much of a difference, it wouldn’t have been forced on students. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2023, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-god-we-trust-required-in-all-louisiana-classrooms/988052/8 "2023-08-04T20:30:06Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > That said, how is it different from having this stupid motto on our coins etc., and how it is different from forcing kids to say the Pledge of Allegiance (with its “under God”) every day? The coin thing is about tradition or something. Students cannot be forced to recite the Pledge of Allegiance. The Supremes decided that a long time ago. How they react to this thing in Louisiana will tell us a lot about the future of this country. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2023, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-god-we-trust-required-in-all-louisiana-classrooms/988052/9 "2023-08-04T20:30:23Z")
Work to have [Flying Spaghetti Monster doctrine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_Spaghetti_Monster) posted next to “In God We Trust.” > I am the Flying Spaghetti Monster. Thou shalt have no other monsters before Me (Afterwards is OK; just use protection). The only Monster who deserves capitalization is Me! Other monsters are false monsters, undeserving of capitalization. Seriously, call the ACLU about it. Make the state admit it only supports one religion and see them defend that. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2023, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-god-we-trust-required-in-all-louisiana-classrooms/988052/10 "2023-08-04T20:36:22Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > forcing kids to say the Pledge of Allegiance (with its “under God”) every day? When I was a kid, in the late 50s and early 60s, as we all mumbled the pledge, it was perfectly easy to skip those two words, which I did, starting about age 9. Like the words on money, which nobody pays attention to, the words on the walls of classrooms probably won’t have very much effect. They will blend into the other paraphernalia, like the cursive alphabet (that they probably don’t teach anymore). Of course they shouldn’t be there, but until the motto is itself changed (which it certainly should be)\*, I doubt there is any legal recourse. I mean, I hope someone makes a legal challenge to it, but they would probably have to appeal to at least the federal district appeals court to get a fair hearing. \*What should a new motto be (seriously)? Worth a thread of its own? ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2023, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-god-we-trust-required-in-all-louisiana-classrooms/988052/11 "2023-08-04T20:45:51Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > Work to have [Flying Spaghetti Monster doctrine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_Spaghetti_Monster) posted next to “In God We Trust.” I don’t think they have any legal backing. And they’re a little too silly to work well as a counter. However, I do hope that The Satanic Temple gets involved here. Sure, put up “In God We Trust”, as long as we get to say “Hail Satan” as well. And they _do_ have a legal department which can make this happen, or at least bring it to the courts. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2023, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-god-we-trust-required-in-all-louisiana-classrooms/988052/12 "2023-08-04T20:52:24Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > The coin thing is about tradition or something. Students cannot be forced to recite the Pledge of Allegiance. I should make it clear that I’m not in favour of what’s going on in Louisiana. I stopped saying the Pledge around age nine, too, but I had said it _for years_ before that, and it’s still in my long-term memory. Little kids don’t have the ability to stand up to authority or to peer pressure in the same way that even older kids do. The freedom to not say the pledge is notional rather than actual when we’re talking about seven-year-olds. This, of course, is also my argument against what’s going on in Louisiana. I want less of this nonsense, not more, and I don’t care about tradition: anything that forces an American to acknowledge God as having an important role in anything other than the interior of people’s heads is problematic and should be called out and stopped. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2023, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-god-we-trust-required-in-all-louisiana-classrooms/988052/13 "2023-08-04T21:09:39Z")
In terms of the growing trend of making this country a theocracy a la the Islamic Revolution in 1979 Iran, does this even make the top 1000 of things to be upset with? ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2023, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-god-we-trust-required-in-all-louisiana-classrooms/988052/14 "2023-08-04T21:16:20Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > I don’t think they have any legal backing. And they’re a little too silly to work well as a counter. > > However, I do hope that The Satanic Temple gets involved here. I get what you are saying but I see that as a feature and not a problem. Make the courts draw a bright line that delineates a religion from something “silly.” Let them defend what happens in the bible as not silly where Spaghetti Monster is silly. That’s the point. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2023, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-god-we-trust-required-in-all-louisiana-classrooms/988052/15 "2023-08-04T21:18:25Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > In terms of the growing trend of making this country a theocracy a la the Islamic Revolution in 1979 Iran, does this even make the top 1000 of things to be upset with? It’s abhorrent. It’s not about where this falls on the list; it’s on the list, and deservedly so. Walk. Gum. Same time. You know. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2023, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-god-we-trust-required-in-all-louisiana-classrooms/988052/16 "2023-08-04T21:21:39Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > Make the courts draw a bright line that delineates a religion from something “silly.” Lawyers still want to be paid. And that means a real organization that can fundraise, not an internet meme. Obviously, Satan, the FSM, and Jesus are all equally silly in rational terms. And TST understands this; they’re all a bunch of atheists in reality. But they have a real org with money to pay their legal team, and there is no equivalent for the FSM. You have to actually get to the court if you want to argue your case. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2023, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-god-we-trust-required-in-all-louisiana-classrooms/988052/17 "2023-08-04T21:22:39Z")
Which is why I suggested calling the ACLU. They have lots of lawyers who do this sort of thing all the time. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2023, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-god-we-trust-required-in-all-louisiana-classrooms/988052/18 "2023-08-04T21:27:21Z")
I hope the ACLU gets involved, too. I just don’t see them viewing this as the best approach from their perspective. Whereas it’s the core strategy of TST. Plus, _Satan_ really raises some people’s hackles, while the FSM is just seen as a joke. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2023, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-god-we-trust-required-in-all-louisiana-classrooms/988052/19 "2023-08-04T21:29:38Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > > [@Procrustus](#): > > > > How would I explain this to my kids? > > “We live in a regressive, theocratic state …” Depending on the kid’s age, I’d be tempted to literally use those exact words to explain it. Of course in Louisiana, and a few other states like it, this might prompt Child Protective Services to investigate and possibly remove the children from the clutches of presumed atheist commie parents. 🤫 ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2023, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-god-we-trust-required-in-all-louisiana-classrooms/988052/20 "2023-08-04T21:39:50Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > In terms of the growing trend of making this country a theocracy a la the Islamic Revolution in 1979 Iran, does this even make the top 1000 of things to be upset with? It’s roughly the equivalent of all those statues of Confederate generals that were put up 100 years ago. The point is to remind Those People that they have a place in society and it’s not on top. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-god-we-trust-required-in-all-louisiana-classrooms/988052.md?page=2)