In 1973, then Roman Catholic Archbishop Anthony Pantin declined to go on record in favour of renaming the award, but allowed that he lacked "any strong feelings one way or the other."

In 1995 the Dharmacharya (spiritual head of the Hindu organization, Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha) Pandit Krishna Maharaj, refused to accept the Trinity Cross from Prime Minister Patrick Manning, for his social work on the grounds that it did not represent a true national award involving all religious denominations of Trinidad and Tobago.

UK based John Horan, Anand Ramlogan and Sir Fenton Ramsahoye, attorneys for the applicants, argued that the State kept the Trinity Cross, knowing that "non-Christians are unable and unwilling to accept (it) because it is perceived to be and/or in fact is a Christian symbol."

In May 2006, Mr. Justice Jamadar, a Presbyterian, ruled that "the Trinity Cross – the nation's highest award – is strictly a Christian symbol, and as a result, it discriminates in a multi-religious society....

[1] Prime Minister Patrick Manning said in Parliament on 2 June 2006, that the Trinity Cross "will pass into history and this year's National Awards will be conducted on the basis of new and more acceptable arrangements."