Emerging Issues: In _____ We Trust

Join us for our once-a-month discussion series at the Park City Senior Center. Led by member, Bob Shallenberg, each Emerging Issues session will center around a topical or political issue and feature a 30-minute introductory video followed by 45 minutes of civil discussion.

In 1956, the United States Congress declared “In God We Trust” the official motto of the nation  Since its adoption, each year, a greater share of Americans identify as religiously unaffiliated. Trust in nearly every major institution has declined to historic lows. The sense of shared national identity – the “we” that the motto presupposes – feels more contested. And the physical medium on which the motto most visibly appears – paper currency – is itself becoming a relic, displaced by digital payments and the tap of a phone.

This session does not ask whether God exists. That is a matter of personal belief. It asks a different set of questions, organized around the primary words of the motto:

• GOD – What was meant by putting the word “God” in the motto and how does that square with the founding doctrine of the separation of church and state?
• WE – The motto does not say “In God I Trust.” It is collective. Who was meant as the “we” when the motto was adopted?  What degree of accuracy does “In God We Trust” retain in 2026?.
• TRUST – The motto is a statement of trust directed upward, toward God and the institutions that invoke divine authority. But trust also runs horizontally, from individuals to institutions. Both forms of trust are in crisis. What is trust, how has it been lost, and what would it take to rebuild it?