sits. The national motto carved in
marble can be seen at the top of the image.
Federal government On July 30, 1956, the
84th Congress passed a joint resolution "declaring 'IN GOD WE TRUST' the national motto of the United States", which is codified under . The resolution passed both the
House and the
Senate unanimously and without debate. previously existed as a
de facto official motto. and in 2011 by the House of Representatives, in a 396 to 9 vote. In 2000, the House additionally encouraged to publicly display the motto. In December 1962, the motto was carved above the rostrum of the
Speaker of the House in response to the backlash against the Supreme Court's decision in
Engel v. Vitale, which banned government-authored public school prayers. , which also appears on the
state's flag. appears at the bottom of the seal.|193x193px
State and local governments Adoption of the national motto in state symbols In
Florida, 1145 provided for the adoption of "In God We Trust" as the official state motto, instead of fairly similar "In God Is Our Trust", effective July 1, 2006. The motto has also appeared on the
state seal and the
state flag, as the seal is one of its elements, since 1868.
Georgia's flag features the motto since 2001, which was retained after a redesign two years later. In
Mississippi, the
state senate voted to add the words, "In God We Trust" to the
state seal, justifying it as an effort to protect religious freedom. The change was made effective on July 1, 2014. Six years later, Mississippi Governor
Tate Reeves signed into law a bill requiring that the
state's flag, which had contained the
Confederate battle emblem, be replaced with a new one containing the phrase "In God We Trust." A new flag containing the motto was
approved by voters in a referendum, and it became the official state flag in January 2021. On April 28, 2023, Governor
Bill Lee of Tennessee signed a bill that would require him to submit a new
state seal design which includes the national motto. The
secretary of state should receive the proposal by July 1, 2025.''': In March 2017, Act 911, sponsored by state Representative
Jim Dotson, made it a requirement of Arkansas state law for public schools to display posters with the national motto, if these were donated. In 2019, the law was later amended to require public display of the national motto in public schools, higher education institutions and state government buildings, if funds are available for that purpose. Governor
Rick Scott then signed the mandate into law. •
Idaho: House Concurrent Resolution 32, adopted in March 2020, mandates that the national motto be placed over the chairs of presiding officers of both chambers of
Idaho Legislature. •
Kentucky: In 2014, a law was passed that obliged display of the national motto in legislative buildings and in committees. In June 2019, a bill sponsored by state representative
Brandon Reed of
Hodgenville was passed that required Kentucky public schools to display the motto in a prominent location, beginning from the 2019–20 school year. To protest the requirement,
Fayette County Public Schools, a school district which serves
Lexington, complied by posting framed
one-dollar bills, which bear the slogan, while in
LaRue County, of which Hodgenville is seat, schools were using oversized images of
pennies. and signed into law by Governor
John Bel Edwards in May that year. The bill also mandated school instruction about "In God We Trust" as part of the social studies curriculum. In August 2023, another law required the motto to be hung in each classroom. •
Mississippi: In March 2001, Governor
Ronnie Musgrove signed legislation requiring the motto "In God We Trust" to be displayed in every
public school classroom, as well as the school auditoriums and cafeterias, throughout the state. •
Ohio: Ohio requires public schools to hang material featuring the motto if school districts receive it as donation, or if money is donated with the stated purpose of buying such materials. •
South Dakota: In March 2019, South Dakota required public schools to prominently display "In God We Trust" motto on their walls, starting from the 2019–20 school year. •
Tennessee: In March 2018, a bill sponsored by state representative
Susan Lynn, which requires Tennessee schools to prominently display "In God We Trust" passed the state
House 81-18. After being approved unanimously in the
Senate, it was signed by Governor
Bill Haslam into law the following month. •
Texas: Texas allowed display of the motto in public schools and higher education institutions since 2003. The
Texas Legislature then passed a bill in 2021 to mandate donated copies of the motto to be hung in a "conspicuous place" in a collage that should, aside from the motto, also include the
United States flag and the
Texas flag, but nothing more. Two years later, another bill prohibited anyone from denying the possibility to hang such mottos. •
Utah: Utah's law that obliges schools to publicly display "In God We Trust" was signed into law in March 2002 by Governor
Mike Leavitt. The law also mandates school instruction about the motto. •
West Virginia: Senate Bill 280 mandates display of the national motto in all educational establishments in the state; the motto must be displayed in a frame with the United States flag only. The bill was signed into law on April 29, 2025 by
Patrick Morrisey.
Allowing display •
Alabama: A 2018 law allows display of the motto in schools, libraries, government buildings, and on law enforcement vehicles. •
Arizona: Arizona allows public display of the motto in public schools. •
New Hampshire: 69, introduced in April 2021, initially proposed to require schools to display the national and state motto's, and passed the
House 204–169. It was amended in the Senate to simply allow publication of the mottos and approved on May 13, 2021, which was approved by the House the following month. The bill was signed into law by Governor
Chris Sununu on July 30, 2021. •
North Dakota: North Dakota statute allows display of the national motto in public schools. a 2018
Senate bill to mandate such display died in the
House. •
South Carolina: South Carolina allows political subdivisions and schools to post a display detailing the foundations of the American law and government, of which the national motto is one of thirteen documents, while providing context to these documents in terms detailed by the state statute. Several local governments have introduced the display of the motto in government buildings and municipal cars. School boards have also seen voluntary introduction of the motto, particularly after the
September 11 attacks, when the
American Family Association supplied several 11-by-14-inch posters to school systems and vowed to defend any legal challenges to their display. ==Society and culture==