Religion in the United States Calvinist heritage. The modern official motto of the United States of America, as established in a 1956 law signed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, is "In God We Trust". The phrase first appeared on U.S. coins in 1864. According to a 2002 survey by the Pew Research Center, nearly 6 in 10 Americans said that religion plays an important role in their lives, compared to 33% in Great Britain, 27% in Italy, 21% in Germany, 12% in Japan, and 11% in France. The survey report stated that the results showed America having a greater similarity to developing nations (where higher
First university in the United States 1820. Yale's website states that in 1861, Yale "awarded the first Ph.D. in the United States". First university in the United States First university in the United States is a status asserted by more than one U.S. university. Historically, when the Philippines was still a United States territory, the University of Santo Tomas (established in 1611) was considered as the oldest university under the American flag. Presently in the United States, there is no official definition of what entitles an institution to be considered a university versus a college, and the common understanding of "university" has evolved over time. The