Let’s not name names or point fingers. Let’s speak hypothetically in order to protect the puzzled.

In a fictional public school somewhere there’s a history lesson under way. Let’s listen in.

“Now class, July 6 is the 225th anniversary of the day the dollar became the unit of currency for the United States. Does anyone know where the term ‘dollar’ came from? No? Well, the word ‘dollar evolved from a German word; Joachimsthaler, which means ‘From Joachim’s valley.’ This is a place in Germany where silver was mined in the 16th century. The term for the coins minted there was shortened to thaler which, over time, became our word ‘dollar.’”

“So, Ms. Bright, the word ‘dollar’ evolved from a geographical designation, like mankind evolved from a primitive ancestor?”

“Not exactly. Next question.”

“Ms. Bright, where did the word ‘money’ come from?”

“Good question. It’s a word we use every day without realizing that each time we say it, we’re invoking the memory of an ancient pagan goddess. The Romans worshipped a rather large gallery of gods and goddesses. At the top of the hierarchy sat Jupiter, king of the gods and his queen Juno. Another name for Juno was Moneta and certain Roman coins were minted in her temple. Over time, all minted coins became associated with Juno Moneta and this gave rise to the word ‘money,’ which we still use today.”

“So the word ‘money’ began as a religious term?”

“Yes.”

“Is it OK to talk about that in class?”

“Of course. It’s history.”

“So if religion is part of history, it’s OK to talk about it in class?”

“Well, not always. Next question.”

“Ms. Bright, I have a dollar here that has ‘In God We Trust’ printed on it. If it’s just history, can you tell us how it got there.”

“Well — um — I guess so. See, ‘In God We Trust’ is the official motto of the United States. It became our motto by an act of Congress over 50 years ago.”

“Ms. Bright, why did Congress think it was important to have that phrase as our national motto?”

“I’m afraid we’re in a curious gray area here. The Supreme Court has ruled that the phrase ‘In God We Trust’ does not violate the establishment clause of the Constitution because it has been repeated so many times by rote that it has lost any significant religious content. But if we go back and discuss the reason our legislators decided it should be our motto, we’d have to consider the religious content it had at the time of the legislation. That could be trouble for this school.”

“Is it true what the Supreme Court says, Ms. Bright? Has our national motto lost its religious content?”

“I really can’t say. Next question.”

“As a matter of history, Ms. Bright, how long have Americans been saying ‘In God We Trust?’”

“Inclusion of the phrase on American coins was first proposed during the Civil War. Congress approved its use on small coins in 1864 and gradually on larger coins thereafter. It started to appear on paper money in 1957 after Congress adopted ‘In God We Trust’ as our national motto — which, incidentally occurred on July 11, 1955.”

“Did that phrase still have some important religious content when it started showing up on dollars in 1957?”

“Yes. Next question.”

“But we’d like to know the answers, Ms. Bright. Do you know why our legislators and presidents who made the decision thought it was important?”

“Well — yes, I think I know some of the answers because we know much of what was said about it at the time. But I’m really uncomfortable discussing the ‘whys.’”

“If we can’t discuss it in class, does that mean there’s something wrong with saying ‘In God We Trust’ in public?”

“No. We just can’t discuss it in class.”

“What about free speech. I thought we could discuss anything we want.”

“We can up to a point.”

“But we can’t talk about the meaning of our national motto?”

“Of course we can — just not in this class.”

“I’m sorry Ms. Bright, but this doesn’t make sense. It’s OK to talk about the religion of ancient Rome and the reasons they had for worshipping their gods, but we can’t discuss our own motto. How can that be right?”

“I really don’t know. Next question.”

If you have any advice for this teacher, let me know and I’ll pass it along.

In the meantime, I’m Hink and I’ll see ya.