separation of the government from any form of religious expression.  However, In Lynch v. Donnelly, 465 U.S. 668 (1983) the Supreme Court observed that the Constitution does not require a "complete separation of church and state; it affirmatively mandates accommodation, nor merely tolerance, or all religions, and forbids hostility toward any."  Jd., at 673.  More important, however, the Court recited the "unbroken history of official acknowledgment by all three branches of government of the role of religion in American life from at least 1789."  Jd., at 674.  The Court cited the designation of Thanksgiving and Christmas, two holidays with clear religious origins, as an example of government recognition of this country's religious heritage. Jd., at 676.  Similarly, the Court observed that Congress and the military employs chaplains with federal funds; the tax-payer supported National Museum displays religious paintings depicting such events as the birth of Christ, the Crucifixion, and the Resurrection; and that many Presidents have issued proclamations establishing a National Day of Prayer.  Jd., at 676.  The Court also pointed to the statutorily-prescribed national motto "In God We Trust" and the language "one nation under God" in the Pledge as constitutionally acceptable expressions of this country's religious heritage.  Jd., at 676.  Justice 0'Connor in her concurring opinion observed that these practices
serve, in the only ways reasonably possible in our culture, the legitimate secular purposes of solemnizing public occasions, expressing confidence in the future, and encouraging the recognition of what is worthy of appreciation in society.  For that reason,
23