How does an atheist swear in court

If, as the objection supposes, he is incapable of telling the truth, he will deny his opinions, and what is the test worth? If he is honest enough to subject himself to the disability, rather than tell a lie, why exclude him? Constitution denies the government any authority to coerce a person into performing a religious act, including swearing oaths on a bible.

If being sworn in for a jury, or attesting to the accuracy of a document before a notary public, or as part of a government job, speak to the person administering the oath yourself. If, after you have made the person administering the oath aware of your preference, the person refuses to allow you to give an affirmation, please let us know by submitting an incident report to the American Atheists Legal Center.

Strong , 4 Day 51 Conn. There is a real risk that defendants who take the religious oath when giving evidence may, by that very fact, enjoy more favourable verdicts and sentencing decisions than those who opt for the secular affirmation. One study gathered data about the children of US courts of appeals judges, and found that judges with daughters voted in a more feminist way on gender issues than judges with only sons. Psychologists and legal scholars Monica Miller and Brian Bornstein have also explored the role and effects of religion in courtroom scenarios.

One of their mock trial studies showed that religious appeals for leniency by defence attorneys affected the decisions of jurors. Mock jurors were least punitive when a defendant was described as having converted to Christianity, compared to when the defence attorney made a generic appeal for Christian forgiveness. In their book, God in the Courtroom , they conclude that while religious factors are less important at trial than the facts of a case, there are nevertheless numerous cases in which such factors can be decisive.

This brings us back to the possible effects of the religious oath. Ironically, it seems that part of the reason the oath was ultimately retained may have been because it bolsters credibility so effectively.

This discrimination is so widespread that it goes unnoticed. It also spreads beyond individual incidents into affecting the careers of public office holders.

Despite being on record as not believing in a god, he had to swear a religious oath against his conscience or resign. This means that a conscientious atheist cannot take these positions.

Judges and the president are also constitutionally obliged to swear a religious oath. Imagine the outcry if any public office holder had to swear that there was no god?

Everybody would realise that this would be a breach of their rights. But there is a blind spot when the discrimination is the other way around.

The UN has asked Ireland to hold a referendum. But our State delegation never responds to the UN about this, and the recent programme for government includes no commitment.

The European Court of Human Rights has consistently found that the right to freedom of religion and belief is one of the foundations of a democratic society. The court has also held that the right to manifest your religion or belief has a negative aspect. This means that the State cannot oblige you to disclose your religion or beliefs.

Nor can it oblige you to act in such a way that it is possible to conclude that you hold, or do not hold, religious beliefs. That is intervening in the sphere of your freedom of conscience. The last census showed one in 10 Irish people had no religious beliefs.

And that was despite a leading question that artificially increased the number of religious people. Why do our politicians not care about protecting the rights of this substantial minority? There is no need for an oath in court. The judge should just tell people that they are legally obliged to tell the truth, and that it is a criminal offence to not do so.

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Updated March 27, Cite this Article Format. Cline, Austin. Swearing Oaths in Court.