“In God We Trust,” which became the United States of America’s national motto in the 1950s during the Cold War, could soon be displayed in the North Carolina General Assembly.

At least in one chamber.

Maybe.

During the flurry of “crossover” week — the self-imposed deadline of May 4 this year by which most bills had to pass at least one legislative chamber to have a chance at becoming law — a House bill passed that would display “In God We Trust” behind the House speaker’s and Senate leader’s daises.

House Bill 215 passed the House 94-20 on May 2 with bipartisan support. That means it has a chance to also pass the Senate and be sent to the governor. But the leader of the Senate appears lukewarm about the change.

The bill, which has a companion Senate bill, is sponsored by members of the General Assembly’s ultra-conservative Freedom Caucus. If it became law, “In God We Trust” would be displayed in the state legislature in a similar way to how it is displayed by the federal government in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The bill received little debate during committee hearings and on the House floor. After it passed the House, state Rep. Ben Moss, a Rockingham Republican, said having “In God We Trust” at the center of the General Assembly chambers “will serve as a constant reminder that North Carolina is one state, and part of one nation under God.”

Moss said in a news release that the bill is supported by the U.S. Motto Action Committee. The group has had some success adding “In God We Trust” to different public buildings in North Carolina, including the Bertie County Office Building, according to the Bertie Ledger-Advance. But the committee has also failed, like in 2016 when the Cherokee Tribal Council rejected the idea, according to the Smoky Mountain News.

Senate leader likes ‘Esse Quam Videri’

The Senate’s top lawmaker, President Pro Tempore Phil Berger, has questioned the national motto’s place in a state chamber that already has a giant North Carolina state seal on display behind the dais. The state seal includes North Carolina’s motto, “Esse Quam Videri,” which translates from Latin as “To Be, Rather than to Seem.”

Berger, an Eden Republican, told The News & Observer last week that he was unsure whether HB 215 would pass his chamber.

“We have not had a conversation with our caucus on that,” he said in a press gaggle on the Senate floor. “You know, ‘In God We Trust’ is the national motto. It’s not the state motto, ‘Esse Quam Videri.’ ...I’m not sure that personally it’s something I think we ought to do.”

If House members still want to adjust their chambers, Berger said, there are other ways to do it without passing new laws.

“I don’t know why we would, in state statute, set the rules for what the interior of a chamber looks like,” he said. “It seems to me that if the House wants to do that in the House, they should be able to do that by rule. And if we (the Senate) want to do it, we would be able to do it that way.”

“In God We Trust” became the national motto during President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s administration. It followed the historical motto of the United States of America, “E Pluribus Unum,” which means “Out of Many, One.” That was the national motto first recommended by a committee on July 4, 1776, according to the Smithsonian. The motto changed in the 1950’s Cold War era when Eisenhower added “under God” to the Pledge of Allegiance.

Both national mottos still appear on U.S. coins and paper currency. “In God We Trust” had already appeared on coins before the federal law under Eisenhower, which added it to paper currency, as well.

North Carolina’s state motto is on display on the state seal in the House, though the Senate’s is much larger. The seal is also embedded in the stone walkway outside the front entrance of the Legislative Building. It is generally frowned upon to walk on the state seal.