In 2014, Phil Bryant led the effort to add “In God We Trust” to the Mississippi state seal, and now, the former governor is all on board to add those same four words to a new state flag.
“I think Mississippi has an opportunity to extend that message again when the world needs it now more than ever,” Bryant said. “When I was governor, we changed the state seal and added ‘In God We Trust.’ I realized…that attitudes were changing, so when we started looking at how is that flag going to look, I wanted as best I could to try and offer the people of Mississippi something acceptable.”
When asked why the reference to Christianity should be prominently featured on a new flag, Bryant pointed to the United States’ longtime use of the motto.
“This has been an evolution that was honestly started in America in 1865 when we put ‘In God We Trust’ on the coinage because of the horrific conditions that were taking place with the Civil War,” he explained. “There was a revival, and people turned back to God again when President Eisenhower made it the national motto in 1956.”
Bryant, along with the Mississippi Economic Council, also added the motto to the state’s bicentennial flag in 2017 while he was still in office.
HB 1796, which was passed by both chambers of the Mississippi Legislature on Sunday, will replace the current state flag with one that is required to tout those four words – “In God We Trust.”
