Why would an Atheist have to swear in court?

jurydoc

An Atheist does NOT swear on a Bible in court. An Atheist or anyone for whom the Bible has no significance, for that matter, can request to simply make an affirmation. The requirement is designed to "awaken the witnessâ€™ conscience and impress the witnessâ€™ mind with the duty to tell the truth.â€ An oath on the Bible or an affirmation are equally effective.

OPM

Athiests, Jehovah's Witnessess, Amish and Mennonites only have to affirm.

yodadoe

Because that's the way it's always been done. Kinda dumb, isn't it?

David M

Because it is tradition. I have often said to my friends that having someone who does not believe in the Bible or God swear on a Bible to tell the truth holds NO VALUE at all.

The idea of using the Bible is that the person believes it holds a special place and they will be punished for lying based on what that book says, but if you don't believe you will be punished by a God, then so what.

lastly, I thought the US was big on separation of Church and State? Then why a Bible? Clearly that it is not as true as they make it out to be.

El Pistolero Negra

It is representative of giving your word. The Bible or God only have meaning in the act of swearing in to those who believe in them. To others it simply means I give my word to tell the truth.

bill blasphemy

you have to swear to tell the truth, but you don't have to use god if you don't want to. an attorney will try to talk you out of it because they will claim a jury won't trust your statement.

martin

We affirm that we will tell the truth - basically giving your word of honor

true blue

They make everyone swear, so it's really not a separation of church and state, is it? The same idea behind having the slogan "In God We Trust" in court rooms and on money, etc... They say it's because the government and country were founded on judeo-christian values, but in my opinion it's unjust because not everyone believes in God, and it's their right not to believe in God.

Eagleflyer

Something along the same lines of atheists having no problem with carrying around a bunch of paper in their pockets bearing the words "In God We Trust."

Lorenzo Steed

Bible is optional, so is swearing.

alegrettt

Good question. Probably they should swear over the constitution or the laws, and not over the bible.

John Redcorn

they just means the testimony they give can be total BS. i love this judicial system!!!!

You don't have to swear on the Bible if you don't believe its validity. For those who choose not to use the Bible, you just swear to tell the truth, so help you.....

Wanderer

yes ,they dont have to swear on the bible anymore.

Kevin A

It's court procedures just like the legal double talk they do. You just have to go along with it, it's all for show.

hello

Good question, I've never thought of that before.

dreamer20692000

Because we are a nation "under God" and "In God we trust"
If a atheist goes to court, because he or she dont believe in God, he or she should'nt have a problem swearing

Khalil

Christian Answers from Khalil Ahlee:
Answer: This country was started on the base of God and to this day that is how our court system still works in some ways, even our money reads is God We Trust. Put it like this, the court doesn't care if you swear on a pig, if you lie and they find you guilty you will be punished. It's just a way of you and the court recognizing that you promise to tell the truth.

just the facts

It represents an oath, whether the athiest believes in God or not. If he is caught in a lie he can be punished for perjury.

snfcricket

Why do do we swear on a bible? It's out of date.

Straight Forward

Because God exists, even if they don't think so.

You can "thumbs down" me all you want..God exists and your shallow minded point of view is trivial.

Chimichanga to go please!!

Ever heard of the saying, "When in Rome...." ? It is a courthouse. They do what they do. They can't go around trying to please everyone so as to not offend people. Just swear in court. When you are somewhere else, then give your word. When you go to a foreign country, you don't expect them to speak your language do you? No - you speak the language of the country you are in. That's how it is with court. There are procedures & rules to follow in the courtroom. If you follow them, you will be fine. If you don't, well, it just won't bode well for you.

F1reflyfan

It's just tradition... No religious significance. If you don't like Christianity, leave the country because this country was founded by Christians.

Funny

I'm not going to bother with the obvious things, like the constitution. So I'll direct you a few other places. The Treaty of Tripoli for one. Jefferson's notes on the constitution, for another. Oh, and every history textbook in the nation! Basically, it comes down to a few things: There is a separation of church and state. This country is NOT founded on christian principles and values - if some things match up that just means that Christianity's gotten a few things right along the way. And here's a bombshell: the founders weren't Christian. Nope. They really weren't. Ever heard of the Jeffersonian Bible?

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