{"id":13986,"date":"2020-07-07T11:45:34","date_gmt":"2020-07-07T15:45:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/?p=13986"},"modified":"2020-07-07T11:45:34","modified_gmt":"2020-07-07T15:45:34","slug":"mississippi-flag-some-question-replacing-confederate-symbol-with-in-god-we-trust","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2020\/07\/mississippi-flag-some-question-replacing-confederate-symbol-with-in-god-we-trust","title":{"rendered":"Mississippi Flag: Some Question Replacing Confederate Symbol With \u2018In God We Trust\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Maina Kiai\/Flickr.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Mississippi lawmakers recently voted to remove the Confederate battle emblem from their state flag. The state\u2019s Republican governor signed the decision into law, solidifying another response to ongoing racial reckoning and calls for change.<\/p>\n

Now the debate continues as some question what the emblem will be replaced with.<\/p>\n

A commission called to redesign the flag proposes swapping the Confederate symbol with the words \u201cIn God We Trust.\u201d However, the suggestion that the new flag includes the words worried some advocates and watchdog groups outside of Mississippi, who see the phrase often invoked by conservative activists and lawmakers aligned with Christian nationalism.<\/p>\n

One of those groups is Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, which decried the phrase’s inclusion on the flag. They characterized it as trading \u201ca white nationalist symbol for a Christian nationalist one.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMississippians practice a variety of religions and faiths, and one in four identify as nonreligious,\u201d Sam Sokol, a policy advocate at Americans United, wrote in a blog post. \u201cOur state flags are powerful symbols, so they should represent our shared values and the diversity of our communities.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEspecially white Americans and white Christians, when they hear \u2018In God We Trust\u2019 they kind of idealize this connection between the United States and a covenant with the Christian God. They\u2019re really kind of saying that this country belongs to a certain (group), and really what they\u2019re saying is it belongs to white Protestant people,\u201d said Andrew Whitehead, a sociologist at Clemson University and co-author of \u201cTaking America Back for God: Christian Nationalism in the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n

While some are debating the inclusion of \u201cIn God We Trust,\u201d others celebrate the inclusion. Faith leaders in Mississippi are happy about the inclusion of the phrase on the flag.<\/p>\n

Shawn Parker, executive director of the Mississippi Baptist Convention Board, said religious Mississippians are likely to welcome its presence on the state banner.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a whole, Mississippi Baptists would be pleased with the presence of \u2018In God We Trust\u2019 on the flag, and would consider it a fair representation of who we are as a state in Mississippi,\u201d said Parker.<\/p>\n

His group pushed the Legislature to remove the Confederate symbol from the flag in June.<\/p>\n

He also pointed to the state\u2019s deeply religious nature.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think Mississippi, as a general rule, is characterized by religious convictions and a strong faith,\u201d he said. \u201cWe have a large contingency of our population that, if they\u2019re not involved in a local church on a regular basis, they at least understand they should be involved in a church on a regular basis. They recognize God\u2019s reality.\u201d<\/p>\n

Voters will be asked to approve the new design in the Nov. 3 election. If they reject it, the commission will set a different design using the same guidelines for voters to decide later.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mississippi lawmakers recently voted to remove the Confederate battle emblem from their state flag. The state\u2019s Republican governor signed the decision into law, solidifying another response to ongoing racial reckoning and calls for change. Now the debate continues as some question what the emblem will be replaced with. A commission called to redesign the flag…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":565,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2952,1262,2255,1640,2946,2949],"class_list":["post-13986","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-advocacy-groups","tag-americans-united-for-the-separation-of-church-and-state","tag-in-god-we-trust","tag-mississippi","tag-mississippi-flag","tag-watchdog-groups"],"yoast_head":"\nMississippi Flag: Some Question Replacing Confederate Symbol With \u2018In God We Trust\u2019<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, nofollow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Mississippi Flag: Some Question Replacing Confederate Symbol With \u2018In God We Trust\u2019\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Mississippi lawmakers recently voted to remove the Confederate battle emblem from their state flag. The state\u2019s Republican governor signed the decision into law, solidifying another response to ongoing racial reckoning and calls for change. Now the debate continues as some question what the emblem will be replaced with. 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