A coalition of church-state separation activists has sued Mississippi over the four words displayed on its license plates since 2019: “In God We Trust.”
The plaintiffs in this case — including the American Atheists and the Mississippi Humanist Association— allege that the state of Mississippi is violating its residents’ right to religious freedom by forcing them to display these license plates.
“Wherever I use my trailer, I am forced to profess a religious idea that I do not believe,” plaintiff Alan Griggs said in a statement. “Imagine a Christian having to drive around with ‘In No God We Trust’ or ‘In Allah We Trust.’”
In another statement, Ocean Springs, Miss. attorney Dianne Herman argued that Mississippi must provide a free alternative to the “In God We Trust” license plate. Currently, the state’s vehicle owners can pay $32 for a specialized plate without the phrase, but the state offers no other options for motorcycles, RVs, and disability plates.
“Mississippi car owners should not be punished with higher fees for refusing to promote an exclusionary and divisive message,” Herman said in the statement. “They are entitled to an alternative.”
The suit also mentions Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves (R), a strong supporter of the state’s license plate redesign. In June 2019, the then-gubernatorial candidate Reeves released a campaign ad titled “In God We Trust,” which shows him attaching the new license plate to the back of a vehicle.
“Mississippi has a brand new license plate, but the out-of-state liberals hate it. It’s because of these four words: ‘In God We Trust,’” Reeves said in the ad.
“In God We Trust” has been the official motto of the United States since July 30, 1956, when President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed a bill that unanimously passed both the House and Senate. Beginning the following year, all new banknotes in circulation displayed the phrase.
As such, the motto has been challenged several times over the years. In 2018, a federal appellate court in Minnesota rejected an atheist group’s challenge to its appearance on banknotes. The group was led by church-state separation activist Michael Newdow, who has argued that the inclusion of the phrase “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance renders it unconstitutional.
The case eventually went to the Supreme Court, which upheld the lower court’s decision in 2019.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member