"So help me God" at swearing-in
ceremonies and in legal documents
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Background:
Witnesses in North American court trials are sworn-in before testifying. They have
historically been asked to promise to tell the truth "so help me
God." This tradition has an ancient history, dating back to the late
18th century. 1
At the time, the non-Native population of the U.S. was almost entirely
Judeo-Christian and the vast majority of adults believed in a
personal God and feared the possibility of being
sentenced to an eternity in
Hell if they angered God. By invoking God in the
swearing-in ceremony, it was widely believed believed that witnesses would be
less likely to commit perjury because of fear of angering God.
Belief in God has since become less common in North America; belief in a wrathful God who tortures people for all
eternity in Hell is becoming rare except among religious conservatives. But the
swearing-in tradition continues. Some
state tax forms and other legal documents require the individual to swear
truthfulness as well, upon penalty of a fine or jail sentence. 2
The U.S. is generally regarded as the most religiously diverse country in the
world. As the percentage of persons who identify themselves as
Christians
decreases, and the percentage of Agnostics,
Atheists, those not associated with
a religious faith, etc. increases, there have been efforts to remove
references to the Judeo-Christian
God from court rooms, government offices,
public schools, etc. One of these
changes has been to remove state-sponsored prayer from the schoolroom, while
allowing students to pray on the school bus, around the flagpole, in school
corridors, in religious clubs, over meals, etc. Another has been to drop the "so help me God" phrase in courtrooms.
This has generated considerable distress among some devout people who interpret
these changes as attacks on their religious heritage and
religious freedoms.
A pious hoax:
In late 2004, an anonymous person
started to circulate an Email concerning a swearing-in ceremony at a courtroom in
Raytown, MO. Missouri. Raytown has a population of about 30,000 and is near Kansas City and
Independence, MO. A 2007-NOV version of the Email is:
This is by a daughter of a murdered
couple in Raytown who had a Bible and Bookstore [sic] on 63rd street.
When I had to testify at the murder trial of my parents a week ago, I was
asked to raise my right hand. The bailiff started out; "Do you swear to tell
the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?" I stood there and
waited but she said nothing. She said, "Do you?" I was so stunned, I blurted
out "What happened to 'so help me God'?" She came back with, "Do you?" I
replied yes, but I was perplexed.
Then the judge said "You can say that if
you want to." I stopped, raised my right hand, and finished with "So help me
God!" I told my son and daughter that when it came time for them to testify,
they should do the same.
It's no wonder we have so many problems
in this country. If I'd had my wits about me I'd have told them that taking
God out of the courtroom is only going to result in more criminals and
murderers. I don't know what can be done about it, but it's time for us to
step up and DO something.
NBC this morning had a poll on this question. They had the highest number of
responses that they have ever had for one of their polls, and the percentage
was the same as this: 86% to keep the words, 14% against. That is a pretty
'commanding' public response.
I was asked to send this [Email] on if I
agreed or delete if I didn't. Now it is your turn. It is said that 86% of
Americans believe in God. Therefore, I have a very hard time understanding
why there is such a mess about having "In God We Trust" on our money and
having God in the Pledge of Allegiance. Why is the world catering to this
14%?
AMEN!
In God We Trust
The original version was a little more assertive. Instead of criticizing the
"world catering to this 14%" the Email said: "Why don't we just tell
the 14% to Sit Down and SHUT UP!!!"
The Email is based on an actual murder of John and Mildred Caylor, an elderly
couple who ran a conservative Christian bookstore in Raytown. However, the Email
was first circulated before the court case began. Also, the Caylors apparently did not have a
daughter. Thus the swearing-in events were a work of fiction. 3
What percentage of Americans believe/disbelieve in a personal God?
The 86%/14% values happen to be identical to the results of a later Gallup Poll conducted during 2007-MAY.
Someone might have recently made the Email's data agree with the Gallup poll's
numbers. When asked "Do you believe in God, or is it something
you're not sure about or don't believe in?"
86% said they believe in God;
8% said they were not sure about;
6% said they don't believe in God.
However, during the same survey, American adults were asked: "Do
you believe in God, don't believe in God but believe in a
universal spirit, or don't believe in either?"
Gallup has often asked American adults whether they believe in "God or a
universal spirit." The response is typically about 95% affirmative. Many
commentators have quoted this figure as the percentage who believe in a personal
God. A more accurate estimate of the percentage of American adults who believe
in a personal God is 78%.
Majority rule vs. accommodation:
There are at least three different ways to handle the "So help me God"
phrase:
We can proceed with the will of the majority which is definitely to
retain the compulsory use of the phrase.
We can interpret the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution as
prohibiting government promotion of religion, and simply drop the phrase.
We can attempt to accommodate people's conflicting views by finding
common ground -- some form of compromise.
One method of accommodation would be the policy of the Raytown court: to make
the phrase optional.
Atheists, Agnostics,
Humanists, other non-theists, some
Deists, etc. would then not be forced to imply a
belief in the existence of a supreme being, which many would regard as a
form of lying.
Christians, Muslims,
Jews and other theists can add the words "So help
me God" if they personally wish follow tradition and make their belief in
God public.
Nobody is forced to say something that they feel uncomfortable with. This is
not a perfect solution, because there will still be some who would prefer that
the phrase be compulsory and other who would wish that it be prohibited.
Democracy does not necessarily mean that the majority should always rule.
That often leads to the tyranny of the majority in which various minorities are
oppressed. One of the functions of a constitution is to shield minorities from
the wishes of the majority.
One example of this form of tyranny was the miscegenation laws that
existed in at least 41 U.S. states during the early 1960s. They prohibited
inter-racial marriages. These laws were preserved from earlier times because
a strong majority of Americans -- about 70% at that time -- opposed
mixed-race marriages. So loving, committed couples who happened to be of
different races were not allowed to marry. In the state of Virginia, a
Caucasian/African American married couple was found guilty of co-habiting
and were given the choice of exile from the state or a jail sentence. They
took a third route: suing the state in a case that was ironically called
"Loving v. Virginia." In 1967, the U.S. Supreme court declared the
miscegenation laws that then existed in 16 states to be unconstitutional.
Since then couples of any race can marry, and receive state and federal
benefits and protections for themselves and their children. Meanwhile,
racial bigots can still disapprove of inter-racial marriage and hate
whatever race they want. Everyone is accommodated.
More details about the case.
Until the 1980s, most Americans felt that
same-sex behavior should be illegal, even consensual sex between two
adults in private. The state of Texas, and three other contiguous states had
criminalized certain same-sex activities, even though the same behaviors
were legal if performed by an opposite-sex couple. Nine additional states
prohibited certain behaviors engaged in by both same-sex and opposite-sex
couples. In 2003-JUN, the U.S. Supreme Court declared all of these "sodomy
laws" to be unconstitutional in its Lawrence v.
Texas ruling. Justice Anthony M. Kennedy wrote that Gays are "entitled
to respect for their private lives. The state cannot demean their existence
or control their destiny by making their private sexual conduct a crime."
Since that ruling, consenting adults can engage in any private sexual
activity that they wish. Homophobes can still express hatred against
homosexuality and/or homosexuals. Everyone is accommodated.
More details about the case.
References:
The following information sources were used to prepare and update the above
essay. The hyperlinks are not necessarily still active today.
Patrik Jonsson, "Raise your right hand and swear to tell the truth ... on
the Koran?," The Christian Science Monitor, 2005-JUL-20, at:
http://www.csmonitor.com/
"Missouri Plaintiff May Strike 'So Help Me God'," Freethought Today
magazine, 2001-MAR, at:
http://ffrf.org/
