Reply #9: The best way to combat this is with the truth [View All]

[prolesunited]

and a few history lessons. Most people do not know that many of these phrasings were added in the 1950s during the height of the Cold War. So many people argue that the founding fathers set the U.S. up to be a Christian nation, but that is far from the truth.

The original motto of the United States was secular. "E Pluribus Unum" is Latin for "One from many" or "One from many parts." It refers to the welding of a single federal state from a group of individual political units -- originally colonies and now states.

The original U.S. seal, first used in 1782, included an eagle with a heart-shaped shield, holding arrows and an olive branch in its claws. The motto "E Pluribus Unum" appeared on a scroll held in its beak. It was first used on some federal coins in 1795.

Change in currency occurred almost a century and a half ago, 11 Protestant denominations mounted a campaign to add references to God to the U.S. Constitution and other federal documents. The phrase was only added to coins, however.

For paper currency, the change occurred in 1956, the nation was suffering through the height of the cold war, and the McCarthy communist witch hunt. Partly in reaction to these factors, the 84th Congress passed a joint resolution to replace the existing motto with "In God we Trust." ... The phrase "Atheistic Communists" has been repeated so many times that the public has linked Atheism with communism; the two are often considered synonymous. Many consider Atheism as unpatriotic and "un-American" as is communism. 

During the 1950's the federal government's references to God multiplied:
The phrase "under God" was added to the otherwise secular Pledge of Allegiance. 
"So help me God" was added as a suffix to the oaths of office for federal justices and judges.

This information was paraphrased from here:
http://www.religioustolerance.org/nat_mott.htm

This site is an excellent source of information regarding this debate.