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An atheist activist wants to remove the phrase, 鈥淚n God We Trust,鈥� from US currency, and he plans to take his case to court.

Michael Newdow, who in 2004 unsuccessfully sued his daughter鈥檚 school district over the words 鈥渦nder God鈥� in the US Pledge of Allegiance, says he will use the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) as the basis of a series of lawsuits against the motto printed on US coins and paper bills. His efforts, while singular, reflect a growing push for tolerance by the nation鈥檚 atheist and religiously unaffiliated populations, who are among the least accepted groups in American society today.

About 40 percent of Americans responded in the negative when asked how they viewed atheists. One survey found that more Americans would vote for an adulterous candidate than an atheist one. Eight states have laws that technically ban atheists from holding office 鈥� and while a 1961 Supreme Court ruling prevents these laws from being enforced, there are no openly atheist members of Congress.

鈥淟ike a light switch, it鈥檚, 鈥榊ou鈥檙e immoral, you鈥檙e gonna raise evil children, you鈥檙e a bad parent,鈥欌�� Todd Stiefel, a former Catholic who now leads a nationwide campaign called Openly Secular, told CBS News in April. 鈥淭hey're questioning your whole existence. It's painful. It's discrimination.鈥�

But attitudes are shifting, partly due to the rising number of secular Americans: In 2014, more than 22 percent of Americans said they were either atheist, agnostic, or 鈥渘othing in particular,鈥� up from 16 percent in 2007, Pew found.

In March, atheists scored a victory at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, where they occupied an exhibitor鈥檚 booth and had a representative address the assembly for the first time. Less than a month later, lawmakers in Madison, Wis. voted to include atheists in the city鈥檚 list of protected classes. Other groups have also taken up Mr. Newdow鈥檚 previous cause in protesting the phrase 鈥渦nder God鈥� in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Lately, however, Newdow鈥檚 mind is on money. In a post for the blog, 鈥淭he Friendly Atheist,鈥� he invoked the RFRA clause that lets government put a substantial burden on religious activity only when that burden furthers 鈥渁 compelling governmental interest.鈥�

鈥淭here is obviously no compelling government interest in having 鈥業n God We Trust鈥� on our money,鈥� Newdow wrote. He added:

"In God We Trust" did not appear in American currency until the 1860s, when it was introduced into American coinage as a response to increased religious sentiment during the Civil War, according to the Department of Treasury. In 1956, Congress passed a resolution, approved by the president, making the phrase the official national motto. The first paper bills bearing the new motto entered circulation the following year.聽

Newdow plans to file lawsuits in seven federal court circuits using the RFRA claim as the lead argument and has urged interested parties to participate as plaintiffs for these cases.

While Newdow鈥檚 use of RFRA as a defense against religion is a new tactic, his historical argument is not. Atheists have repeatedly noted that the original Pledge of Allegiance did not contain the words 鈥渦nder God,鈥� which was added in 1954.

When atheists in Massachusetts sued to declare the phrase discriminatory last year, defense attorney Eric Rassbach disagreed, saying that the bar needs to be set high for what is considered discrimination.

鈥淪omeone is always going to object to something the government is saying,鈥� he told the Monitor. 鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 mean they get to decide what the rule is for everybody else. Then it turns into minority rule, instead of majority rule.鈥�