Editorial:

A whiff of Salem, Mass. — circa late 1600s — tinged the Costa Mesa City Council Chambers Tuesday night. The odor may never go away, thanks to the council’s unanimous vote in favor of posting the words “In God We Trust” under the city’s seal.

The council blew this one big time. Its decision to decorate the walls of a government institution with a slogan that’s essentially religious was unnecessary and divisive.

And, even though 14 other Orange County cities have voted through similar resolutions, Costa Mesa’s decision to join that league potentially violates one of the American system’s cardinal principles: that the affairs of church and state remain separate. The council’s decision also might prove foolish; displaying those Bible-thumping words in City Hall could expose the cash-strapped city to having to spend more taxpayer dollars in fending off possible future lawsuits trickling down from this resolution.

Its arch proponent, Mayor Pro Tem Wendy Leece, a reputedly staunch Christian, denied that this has anything to do with pushing religion on citizens. She said that displaying “In God We Trust” — the official national motto — at City Hall isn’t meant to force a particular religious viewpoint on anyone, but to celebrate that motto and promote patriotism.

“We’ve got wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and more people are facing economic difficulties. During hard times, we should remember that we can trust in God,” Leece said. “It’s not a coercive effort. It’s not forcing anyone to believe or not to believe.”

Oh, puh-lease.

The move will offend people who don’t share Leece’s view of what it means to be patriotic, and it may alienate those who don’t believe in the concept of the almighty. And what about folks who belong to religions that worship more than one god?

In fairness, we should note that many people supported Leece’s proposal. But we should point out, too, that some religious leaders in the community expressed misgivings about this campaign.

“Government should do its very best to serve those matters of public life that properly belong to it, but the promotion of religious belief is not its responsibility,” Msgr. Wilbur Davis, of Our Lady Queen of Angels Catholic Church, stated in Saturday’s In Theory column. “This activity makes me nervous for government should neither promote religion nor interfere with its free exercise.”

The Daily Pilot calls on the City Council to scrap its decision. As a remedy, we suggest an old and much less puritanical slogan as an alternate, one that is all-unifying and reflects our nation’s great diversity: E Pluribus Unum, the Latin words that appear on the Great Seal of the United States and translate into “Out of Many One.”