Skip to main content

Mississippi License Plate Gets Makeover This Year with 'In God We Trust'

Share This article

This year, the state of Mississippi is adding "In God We Trust" to all of its standard-issue license plates.

Republican Gov. Phil Bryant announced the move in May 2018.

"I was proud to sign legislation in 2014 that added the United States National Motto, 'In God We Trust,' to the Mississippi State Seal," Bryan wrote in a Twitter Post. "Today, I am equally delighted to announce that it will adorn our new Mississippi license plates."

Gov. Bryant told residents to expect to see the new plates in 2019. He has kept that promise and new vehicles in Mississippi now have "In God We Trust" on them.  

The decision has drawn mixed reactions.

The American Humanist Association called the plates "unconstitutional."

"The problem, obviously, is that many individuals do not believe in a God, let alone trust in him, her, or it. Thus, to create a standard license plate that displays that phrase, with no alternative at an equal cost that avoids such a statement, unconstitutionally endorses religion."

On the other hand, John Pritchett of the Mississippi Center for Public Policy argued it is constitutional.

"We have been misinformed and misled by generations of public policy, education, and media leaders on the so-called 'separation of church and state.' The concept has been so pervasive that we generally accept the idea that it is inappropriate to bring any faith-based ideas to the public square. The idea that we should separate religion — of any faith or denomination — from politics is not only false, it is virtually impossible."

Share This article

About The Author

Emily
Jones

Emily Jones is a multi-media journalist for CBN News in Jerusalem. Before she moved to the Middle East in 2019, she spent years regularly traveling to the region to study the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, meet with government officials, and raise awareness about Christian persecution. During her college years, Emily served as president of Regent University's Christians United for Israel chapter and spoke alongside world leaders at numerous conferences and events. She is an active member of the Philos Project, an organization that seeks to promote positive Christian engagement with the Middle