Arkansas Schools to Display ‘in God We Trust’ Posters Despite Objections from Outside Groups

Some Arkansas schools are displaying hundreds of posters of the national motto “In God We Trust” after outside special interest groups claimed that the state is using the posters to endorse Christianity.

The schools began rolling out the posters in November after the Arkansas state legislature passed a law in August that allowed K-12 schools to display a picture or poster of the phrase “In God We Trust” above an American flag in classrooms and libraries.

The law states that posters allowed in the classroom can also feature the U.S. and Arkansas flags, adding that the funding for these posters must come from private organizations or charitable contributions to local school boards.

Some interest groups, such as the Freedom from Religion Foundation (FFRF), disagreed with the law and are waging campaigns against the move because they say the posters violate the separation of church and state.

FFRF said in a statement that the Arkansas law Act 911 uses “the machinery of the state to promote Christianity.”

The atheist group has waged a number of other campaigns against other state laws, such as those in Florida and Oklahoma, because they believe the laws promote Christianity in secular public schools.

The group most recently called out Florida state Rep. Kimberly Daniels (D-Jacksonville) over a bill she sponsored that would put “In God We Trust” in Florida schools. FFRF also accused a superintendent of an Oklahoma school district of using her position to “proselytize” her students.