Swearing an Oath on the Bible
Hemant Mehta ([ Ссылка ], [ Ссылка ] , [ Ссылка ])
The midterms are over and we have a brand new Congress. Once again, there's not a single openly atheistic politician in the bunch.
That's a little disappointing, though not very surprising.
But it'll be interesting to watch what happens when the newcomers take their oaths of office.
Because in addition to swearing that they'll uphold and defend the Constitution, they always seem to place their hand on something. And a lot of the time, it's a Bible.
Which is a little weird... because we have separation of church and state in this country.
But it's tradition. George Washington did it. Most, but not all, Presidents have done it.
There's no law that says anyone has to swear an oath on the Bible. A lot of people just do.
What if you're not a Christian, though? What do you do instead?
Well, Muslim Rep. Keith Ellison from Minnesota, in 2007, said his oath with a hand on Thomas Jefferson's copy of the Koran.
Rep. Krysten Sinema from Arizona, in 2013, said her oath with a hand on a copy of the Constitution. Which seems very appropriate.
A couple of politicians have actually made that very point when discussing things like abortion rights or LGBT rights, which are often opposed by religious people.
They said they placed their hand on the Bible and swore to uphold the Constitution; they didn't place their hand on the Constitution and swear to uphold the Bible.
Which is great rhetoric, but once again, why bother bringing a Bible into the whole equation?
The argument I've always heard is that you're making a promise to uphold the Constitution on something that matters a lot to you. So if you're Christian, it makes sense to swear on the Bible because it means something to you.
But, from the outside, that makes about as much sense as saying I pinky swear that I will honor this Constitution. How about you just do your job properly, without trying to convince everyone you should be trusted?
It's not it inspires a lof of trust from me, anyway, since Christians go against what the Bible says all the time.
I would take them a lot more seriously if they swore on a picture of their families instead.
Overall, though, how about we judge you on your actions, not your promises.
The comedian George Carlin even joked about the whole charade of swearing on the Bible. "Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you god? Yeah, I'll tell you about as much truth as the people who wrote that fucking Bible!"
So remember this: If you're ever in a position where you have to swear an oath, you don't have to do it on a Bible. Ever.
You also don't have to say, "So help me God." Those things are just so commonplace now that we often forget they're optional.
Take the oath. Take it seriously. But if you're not a Christian, don't waste your time putting your hand on a book that doesn't mean something to you.
And if you are a Christian in public office, you'd be making a huge statement -- a wonderful statement -- by putting your hand on the Constitution instead.
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