Florida is one of a handful of states that passed laws in 2018 requiring or permitting schools and other public buildings to prominently post the words “In God We Trust.”
Arizona also granted their schools the right to post the state’s motto in English, which appears in Latin on the Grand Canyon state seal – “God Enriches.”
Now other state legislatures want to signify God’s presence in their schools and public buildings as well.
Some state lawmakers are trying to allow or require that the Ten Commandments be posted in schools and public places. Alabama voters passed an initiative in November permitting the Ten Commandments to be posted on state property. Backers of the measure are hopeful it will become law and if challenged, the conservative majority on the US Supreme Court would approve it.
Arkansas passed a similar law to Florida’s in 2017. Arkansas state Rep. Jim Dotson sponsored the measure which required the posting of “In God We Trust” in every classroom. He has since helped other lawmakers write similar laws.
“Our history and our heritage is incredibly important, making sure that we as a nation remember our roots, remember where we came from,” Dotson told The Washington Post. “America is an exceptional nation. It’s the greatest nation in the history of this planet. Obviously, that success is attributed not just to individuals but probably some higher power than ourselves.”
Florida state Rep. Kimberly Daniels (D-Jacksonville), who sponsored the bill to get “In God We Trust” in all public schools in The Sunshine State, told CBN News in February: “I believe with all the negativity going on, our children need to know the foundation of what this country is all about and what it was founded on.”
“God is positive; I put that forth like that because people want to make God a negative thing; God is good,” Daniels explained. “And God is the Creator; He’s the Initiator; He’s the Alpha; He’s the Omega, and our children need to see that because the eyes are the gateway to the soul.”
“And so they need to see that symbol, and it needs to be imprinted in their minds and in their hearts what it meant to the people who came to this country for religious liberty,” she continued.
One 17-year-old survivor of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting spree earlier this year agrees with Daniels.
“It’s powerful because it reassures people of faith,” Mei-Ling Ho-Shing told The Post.
The remainder of this article is available in its entirety at CBN