There has been a lengthy (and, I hope, beneficial) discussion about the phrase "In God We Trust". on US Coinage. I am aware that today's British coinage have a Latin phrase whose full form is "is ELIZABETH II DEI GRATIA REGINA FIDEI DEFENSOR, meaning "Elizabeth II, by the grace of God, Queen and Defender of the Faith"." I'm curious as to public opinion in the UK regarding such a clear expression of God in public affairs.
It isn't really a big deal except to the most 57th regiment of foot (i.e. 'die-hard') secularists. We don't have a seperation of church and state in England, as Anglicanism is the established religion with the Queen as its Supreme Governor. In practice, this doesn't really mean much, and as such nobody has really bothered to legislate to change this state of affairs. In fact, other religions tend to support it on the grounds that at least with the Lords Spiritual (Bishops) present in the House of Lords 'God' still has a voice in the country's legislature....
Very few other European countries have religious mottos on their coins, and only to a very limited extent nowadays. The Dutch €2 pieces have "God zij met ons" ("God be with us"), and the Swiss 5 fr coins say "Dominus providebit" ("The Lord will provide"). Note however that these are edge inscriptions, so by US standards they would probably be considered "almost godless". The other denominations from these two countries, and coins from other European countries, do not have such religious mottos. Christian
I kind of like that. Im a traditionalist, and welcome the idea of a monarchy connection in Canada, and equally welcome the opportunity to leave our natural heritage alone. These notations have been on our coins since their conception. I'm surprised some muslim, hindu, sikh, or budhist group hasn't screamed bloody murder over it, even tho it doesn't reference who's god. There..I said it, and I won't take it back!!!!:loud:
I like a monarchy too. But Russia is a republic now:headbang: The words of the Russian anthem: "From a Southern sea to the Arctic circle to spread our forests and fields. God keep our dear Motherland..." Although Russian Federation is a worldly state formal, but it"s not true in fact (and I think it"s very good). Orthodox Church take part in our policy & life. For example:today I drunk a mineral water which was blessed our archbishop (this water I bought in a "worldly" shop). Since 2010 our children learns the new subject: "Fundamentals of the Orthodox culture". I think, it"s good, because the religion - is the one of the main things in our life. Even our President to visit Orthodox Church regular.
We are getting to the "edge" here, I think - somebody may soon say that this is a topic for the PRWE Forum. But in most European countries, even those where one religion "dominates", we do have a separation of church and state, or rather of politics and religion. Coins are issued by the government, not by any church, and I for one would find it strange if we had religious mottos on our coins. As for monarchies, well, a head of state who got the "job" not by vote but due to his or her blue blood is not exactly democratic, and I sure prefer a republic over a kingdom, duchy, etc. But I am willing to admit that there are several countries in Europe that have, for a long time, combined a democratic system and a monarchy with mostly representational functions pretty well ... Christian
