JEFFERSON COUNTY — A group gathered Saturday just outside Mt. Vernon to protest stickers recently placed on the back of Jefferson County Sheriffs Department squad cars.

A group gathered Saturday just outside Mt. Vernon to protest stickers recently placed on the back of Jefferson County Sheriffs Department squad cars that say, “In God We Trust.”

Organized by the southern Illinois Atheists, protesters told KFVS-TV that they often fall victim to religious discrimination both in the workplace, and at home.

Some said their goal is to raise awareness and eventually have the stickers removed.

Organizer Rob Johnston cited religious freedom all Americans are promised in the First Amendment, and told the station the stickers are an ‘open form of discrimination’ that “does nothing but divide residents.”

Johnston said if everyone is to be treated equally, then everyone should have a say in the matter.

Sheriff Travis Allen, however, told the station he has no intention of removing the stickers, saying his reasoning was based on the belief that the country was founded on Christian principles.

The stickers, which were donated by a local business, can be seen on 12 of Jefferson County’s marked sheriff department vehicles.