'In God We Trust' suit rejected by Supreme Court

The U.S. Supreme Court turned aside a challenge to "In God We Trust" on the nation's coins and currency Monday, refusing to consider a Sacramento man's claim that the national motto is a government endorsement of religion.

Michael Newdow, an atheist, has filed numerous lawsuits against government-sponsored religious invocations, including the words "under God" that were added to the Pledge of Allegiance in 1954.

The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco agreed with him in 2002 that the phrase was religiously motivated and that it sent a message to nonbelievers that they were outsiders. But the Supreme Court dismissed the suit in 2007, saying Newdow lacked standing to represent the interests of his daughter, an elementary school student, because the child's mother had custody of her.

Newdow refiled the suit on behalf of a local parent. But in a 2-1 decision in October, a different appeals court panel said "under God" was a historic, nonreligious recognition of the faith of the nation's founders in a higher power as the source of all rights. Newdow has appealed to the Supreme Court.

In the currency case, Newdow argued that the inscription of the motto on money makes him an unwilling bearer of a religious message. He was turned down in October by the same appeals court panel that ruled against him in the pledge case.

Judge Carlos Bea wrote that the court recognized in a 1970 ruling that the motto has a "patriotic or ceremonial character" and "has no theological or ritualistic impact." The Obama administration and the conservative Pacific Justice Institute had opposed the lawsuit.

The Supreme Court denied review Monday without comment. Newdow said he was disappointed but would refile the suit elsewhere.

"A nation that holds itself out as a beacon of religious liberty chooses an exclusionary term as its national motto, and says one religious view is better than another," he said.

The case is Newdow vs. Lefevre, 10-893.