Strinsinger - You are dead right about Pol Pot having his own dogma and "religion" (an atheistic and materialistic religion in his case). I myself have made that point many times in threads here.

It is my opinion that all fanatical political credos ARE in fact forms of secular religion. They follow the same psychological patterns of unquestioned authority, hierarchical command structure, and strict obedience to dogma that fundamentalist religions do.

As for the motto on the US dollar "In God We Trust", it's totally appropriate, because the dollar IS God in the USA. Think about it. What do people devote the most loyalty and attention to? What lies behind every big political iniative? What is the strength of every effective lobby and power group? The dollar. It IS the dollar that America trusts and serves and the dollar is America's ruling God.