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The Supreme Court declined Monday to take up a legal dispute targeting the inscription of “In God We Trust” on coins and currency from the Department of Treasury. Michael Newdow, an activist who filed the case on behalf of a group of atheists, argued Congress's mandate to inscribe the nation’s motto on U.S. money was a violation of the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause, which prohibits Congress from establishing a national religion.

The Supreme Court rejected a case Monday brought by an atheist who wanted to scrub “In God We Trust,” the U.S. motto, from the nation’s currency, claiming it was an entanglement of state and religion. Michael Newdow, an activist who previous challenged reciting the Pledge of Allegiance in schools, had set his sights on money, but lost at the district, circuit and now Supreme Court levels. On behalf of a group of atheists, Mr. Newdow argued America’s money lacked an reference to God until 1864, when it was added in. He said that amounted to an endorsement of religion.

An atheist activist is planning to file lawsuits claiming the phrase “In God We Trust” on American money is “offensive” and “unlawful.” “It violates the first ten words of the Bill of Rights (‘Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion’) and it violates the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA),” said Michael Newdow, who is also a lawyer and doctor. “Unfortunately, because Constitutional principles can be twisted and perverted, the challenges to this practice under the Establishment Clause have, so far, failed.” Newdow wrote a guest post on the Friendly Atheist blog last week, arguing that the Religious...

WASHINGTON – A federal judge has tossed a lawsuit filed earlier this year that sought to remove the motto ‘In God We Trust’ from American currency.As previously reported, well-known atheist Michael Newdow, who has filed numerous suits challenging the mixture of God and government, submitted a complaint in the Southern District of New York this past March, asserting that the motto violates the Establishment Clause of the United States Constitution as it serves to proselytize unbelievers.“[T]he American dollar travels all over the world, into every country of the world, and frequently gets behind the Iron Curtain, and if it...

The Supreme Court is brushing aside an atheist's challenge to religion in government, refusing to hear a complaint about President Barack Obama adding "so help me God" to his inaugural oath of office. The high court on Monday refused to hear an appeal from Michael Newdow, who argued that government references to God are unconstitutional and infringe on his religious beliefs. Many presidents have added "so help me God" to the oath.

Atheist activist Dr. Michael Newdow announced on his website that after 6 years of litigation in federal courts, his constitutional challenge to the Pledge of Allegiance in California public schools is “over.” Newdow indicated for “reasons that are best not divulged” that he would not appeal the case to the Supreme Court.

Atheist activist Dr. Michael Newdow announced on his website that after 6 years of litigation in federal courts, his constitutional challenge to the Pledge of Allegiance in California public schools is “over.” Newdow indicated for “reasons that are best not divulged” that he would not appeal the case to the Supreme Court. That leaves intact a decision of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco last year holding that the words “under God” in the Pledge do not establish a religion.

(CNSNews.com) - The self-professed atheist who failed to get the Supreme Court to declare unconstitutional the phrases “One Nation Under God” (in the Pledge of Allegiance) and “So Help Me God” (in the presidential oath of office) is not giving up on his effort. California attorney and physician Michael Newdow filed a petition with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Wednesday requesting an en banc (full panel) re-hearing of Newdow v. Roberts – the lawsuit Newdow filed to try to stop Chief Justice John Roberts from using the phrase "so help me God" when...

FAITH UNDER FIRE Banished! City forbids Bible studies in homes 'This letter will serve as a 10-day written notice to quit such use' Posted: March 13, 2010 12:20 am Eastern By Bob Unruh © 2010 WorldNetDaily The city of Gilbert, Ariz., has ordered a group of seven adults to stop gathering for Bible studies in a private home because such meetings are forbidden by the city's zoning codes. The issue was brought to a head when city officials wrote a letter to a pastor and his wife informing them they had 10 days to quit having the meetings in their...

Praise God! Today a federal court, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in San Francisco has ruled on the side of right by upholding the use of the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance and "In God We Trust" on United States currency. Michael Newdow, an atheist from Sacramento California had filed the case on behalf of himself, and his daughter who was "forced" to say the Pledge of Allegiance in school, claiming the references to God were disrespectful to his religious beliefs and were a violation of the separation of church and state...

SAN FRANCISCO -- The words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance are an appeal to patriotism, not religion, and do not violate the separation of church and state, a federal appeals court ruled today - the same court that declared the pledge unconstitutional in 2002. In a separate ruling, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel in San Francisco upheld the placement of the national motto, "In God We Trust," on coins and currency. The language is patriotic and ceremonial, not religious, the court said. Both suits were filed by Michael Newdow, a Sacramento atheist who has filed...

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A number of atheists and non-religious organizations want Barack Obama's inauguration ceremony to leave out all references to God and religion. President-elect Barack Obama will use the Bible Abraham Lincoln used for his inauguration. In a lawsuit filed Tuesday in Washington, the plaintiffs demand that the words "so help me God" not be added to the end of the president's oath of office. In addition, the lawsuit objects to plans for ministers to deliver an invocation and a benediction in which they may discuss God and religion. An advance copy of the lawsuit was posted online by...

Excerpt - In what police describe as a "probable" suicide leap, a prominent Monterey Bay Area attorney fell at least nine floors to his death at the Embassy Suites Hotel Monterey Bay in Seaside the morning before Christmas. Shortly before 9:30 a.m. Sunday, officers found the body of Aptos attorney Paul Sanford in the west end of the hotel lobby, where he had landed on a large ventilation grate. Police Capt. Steve Cercone said horrified guests were eating breakfast in the atrium at the time, and a number of witnesses saw Sanford fall from somewhere between the 9th and 12th...

It may be illegal for school children to say the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, Rep. Todd Akin, R-MO, dreads. Akin fears what he calls activist judges and their ability to legislate what the American people don’t want. He spoke to the 13th Eagle Forum Collegians Annual Leadership Summit about two bills he supports designed to rein in activist judges who legislate from the bench. The Pledge Protection Act of 2005 received a 247-173 House vote in 2005, but died in the Senate. In reaction to a 2003 decision by the 9th U.S....

A federal judge on Monday rejected a lawsuit from an atheist who said the use of "In God We Trust" on U.S. coins violated his First Amendment rights. U.S. District Judge Frank C. Damrell Jr. said the minted words amounted to a secular national slogan that did not trample on Michael Newdow's religious views. "There is no proper allegation that the government compelled plaintiff to affirm a repugnant belief in monotheism," Damrell said in dismissing the suit. Newdow, a Sacramento doctor and lawyer, also lost an effort two years ago to have the Pledge of Allegiance banned from public schools...

MATTHEWS, N.C. -- Two twin girls were stabbed to death Friday at their home on Creek Pointe Drive, police said. The father of the 5-year-olds, David Lauren Crespi, [has been charged with murdering them. Medic reported that Crespi, 45, called 911 at 12:45 p.m., saying he fatally stabbed his daughters. He also threatened to kill himself, Medic said. When police arrived at the scene, Crespi was waiting for them outside the home. The children were inside, and there was nothing paramedics could do to save them. Officials couldn’t come up with an immediate explanation. “We’re not anywhere where we can...

We all knew it was coming and here it is. Michael Newdow’s has officially announced his most recent attempt to remove God from the public square. Read More... Craig DeLuz Visit The Home of Uncommon Sense... www.craigdeluz.com

Michael Newdow, perhaps America's best known atheist, has a new target in his personal war against God in the public culture: "In God We Trust" on U.S. money. "I am about to file to get 'In God We Trust' off the front of our currency," he told the Oklahoman. "I plan to do that this week."

SACRAMENTO, Calif. The atheist who's spent years trying to ban recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance in public schools says he'll file a new lawsuit this week. Michael Newdow says he'll ask a federal court to order removal of the national motto "In God We Trust" from U-S coins and currency. He says it violates the religious rights of atheists who belong to his "First Amendment Church of True Science." The church's "three suggestions" are "question, be honest and do what's right." Newdow says it wouldn't be right to take up a collection when the money says "In God We...

Like the slime-creature from a '50s science-fiction film (“Kill it, before it multiplies!”), federal judges are seemingly unstoppable – a malignant, mutating entity determined to conquer the planet. Which is another way of saying that another activist judge has decided that God is unconstitutional. Judge Lawrence K. Karlton (not surprisingly, a Carter-nominee) based his opinion on a fiction – which, come to think of it, isn’t surprising, either. Karlton said he was bound by precedent to find that recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance with the words “one nation under God” violated the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause. The precedent Karlton...