The state of Mississippi last month agreed to replace its 120-year-old flag because it features Confederate symbols.

However, the commission designing the new flag has been told it must include the words “In God We Trust”.

A lawyer for the Satanic Temple has now threatened to sue the state for “removing one divisive symbol of exclusion only to replace it with a divisive phrase of exclusion”.

The group – followers of Baphomet, who is often depicted as a goat – suggested that “atheists, Satanists, and other people of nontheistic faiths could feel excluded”, The Hill reports.

“Should the state of Mississippi insist on placing this exclusionary religious phrase on its flag, we do intend to file suit and seek injunctive relief against this act,” it added.