A simple motto on our currency has led to many debates about the separation of church and state. A common argument brought up by critics is that the motto violates the First Amendment of the United States Constitution - which restricts the government from respecting an establishment of religion. The motto was initially challenged in 1970 in Aronow v. United States, but was (and has been ever since) defended by the Supreme Court. Even recently, Congress decided to pass a resolution that "In God We Trust" is the national motto, which triggered another round of disagreements (mainly about the unwise use of time by Congress).

The motto placed upon our currency is claimed by critics to argue that we, as a group of people, trust (or are pushed to trust) in a god defined by the major religion in the United States - Christianity. Although the United States does not have an official religion, Christianity plays a massive role, with approximately 60~75% of Americans claiming themselves to be Christian. Therefore, the motto suits the preferences of the majority - which makes the issue a tough nut to crack for critics.

The represented image displays the current status quo of politics involving religion - while America claims to be a religiously tolerant nation, it still projects God onto its citizens through government issued currency. Religion has even become so powerful in politics that some anti-Obama voters tried to taint his image by claiming he was Muslim (as though it would be a bad thing) in his presidential campaign. The motto helps us understand how large of an issue religion can be in the United States and in politics. It will be very interesting to see how the politics and representation of religion will affect the development of our culture.