State motto violates First Amendment
There seems to be some confusion about whether or not Ohio’s motto ‘With God, all things are possible’ violates the religion clause in the First Amendment. It is obvious that it does.I would like to bring the three part ‘Lemon test’ established by our Supreme Court (Lemon v. Kurtzman, 1971) to the attention of everyone who thinks that government sponsored religious propaganda is constitutional. The Lemon test is the current interpretation of the conditions that need to be met by a law for it to be considered constitutional to the religion clause in the First Amendment. The Lemon test is as follows:1. A law must have a secular purpose.2. It must have a primary effect which neither advances nor inhibits religion.3. It must avoid excessive entanglement of church and state.It is difficult for me to believe that Ohio’s motto has a secular purpose, and it is impossible for me to believe that it doesn’t advance religion. It seems quite clear to me that Ohio’s motto is a violation of the First Amendment and should not only be prohibited from being displayed by the state, but should be replaced. If I may be so bold, I would like to suggest ‘With Love and Reason, all things are possible.’
August BrunsmanJunior, psychology
