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“In God We Trust” was approved as the official motto of the United States on July 30, 1956, during McCarthyism, and, as a result, officially superseded “E Pluribus Unum.”  One can ask, so what, why does this matter?  From a social justice perspective, this shift in motto is very important.  Moving from “E Pluribus Unum,” meaning “From many, one,” to “In God We Trust” has important ramifications regarding social exclusion.  In the same way that Georgia added the Confederate Flag to their State flag in 1956 and South Carolina added the Confederate Flag to the top of the statehouse in 1962, adopting “In God We Trust” as the official motto of the United States has a thinly veiled implicit message.  In God We Trust excludes non-religious, agnostic, and atheist, from the overarching vision of the United States, which is trusting in God.  The motto of “From many, one” was and is more socially inclusive.  E Pluribus Unum shifts the focus to people working together to establish and maintain a united country, whereas In God We Trust is inherently divisive.  Furthermore, In God We Trust is a more passive motto with regard to action of the citizenry.  People are trusting for God to provide and are not necessarily responsible for trusting themselves or the fellow citizens.  The motto of “From one, many” can connect people to themselves, community, country, and God, if preferred.