The
Secular Coalition for America asked members of Congress to reject using
religious texts such as the Bible or Torah to swear into office
Tuesday, urging them to instead use the Constitution — or nothing at
all.
washingtontimes.com|By Stephen Dinan
Atheists urge lawmakers to reject Bible for swearing-in
ceremonies
Washington Times
- The Washington Times - Monday, January 5, 2015
The Secular Coalition for America asked members of Congress to reject
using religious texts such as the Bible or Torah to swear into office Tuesday,
urging them to instead use the Constitution — or nothing at all.“By taking the oath of office on the Constitution, senators will demonstrate their commitment to our secular government, the laws that they’re affirming to uphold, and the people they were elected to represent,” said the coalition, which bills itself as a group of atheists, agnostics and humanists who are fighting against religious influences in politics.
All members of the House and more than a third of the Senate are due to be sworn in on Tuesday, officially opening the 114th Congress.
Some will carry their own religious texts with them for their official swearing in en masse on the chamber floors, and then repair to ornate rooms off the floor where they will have ceremonial do-overs which their family and friends are invited to join.
Each chamber provides copies of religious texts that the lawmakers can hold for the ceremonial swearing-in, and the growing diversity has spawned new options. A lawmaker was sworn in on a Koran for the first time in 2007, and last year the Hindu Bhagavad-Gita was used for the first time, bringing the total to nine options for House lawmakers.
There is no requirement that a text be used, and many lawmakers will simply hold up their hand — particularly for the official swearing-in on the chamber floor. But most do choose to hold a text for the ceremonial swearing-in.
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