Public trust is a shared belief that people will act in orderly, mutually respectful ways.

Research indicates that trust in business, government, religion, and other people has fallen.

Addressing distrust means understanding its causes and building models of public responsibility.

“In God We Trust.” On July 11, 1955, President Eisenhower signed legislation directing that all American coins and currency would henceforth carry that designation. A check of one’s wallet or purse will reveal that this is indeed the case. Even the humble penny, now retired, makes clear that commercial trading has, ultimately, the sanctioning power of the sacred.

The context for this change was the Cold War with the Soviet Union, which was seen as the bastion of godless totalitarianism. America, it was felt, needed to affirm its spiritual foundations. For similar reasons, the phrase “under God” was added to the Pledge of Allegiance on Flag Day (June 14) the year before.

Of course, there were opponents of the new language, who argued that our country’s founders had been emphatic that, and in contrast to England, church and state should remain separate. To be sure, freedom to believe, including religious freedom, must be protected by government. However, no specific version of belief should have the imprimatur of officialdom. Moreover, if our country is to survive its shaky beginnings, we must look to one another for support. Formerly separate colonies must stand together and relinquish some of their independence. The power of the wealthy must be tempered by democratic processes. The resounding theme of the American experiment is the centrality of “we the people.”

Those of us who grew up in the 1950s remember well the post-war commitments to nuclear families, long-term employer-employee relationships, home ownership, suburbs, and automobiles. Churches, like schools and office buildings, were markers of community prosperity. Religious faith was linked to business success, civic mindedness, and patriotism.

The sociologist and religious scholar Robert Bellah called that mixture of belief America’s “civil religion,”........

© Psychology Today