If church and state are separated, why in court you have to swear on bible, and what if your not religious?
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Romiex69x
ANSWERS: 7
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You no longer have to swear on the bible and if you are not religious you just swear to tell the truth. Now we rely on a person's integrity instead of his loyalty to God.
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It's customary to swear on the Bible, but not compulsory. People of other religions can swear on their holy book and those with no religion can make a solemn affirmation that they will tell the truth, etc with no holy book present. It's a tradition and, as it's been done for so long, it continues.
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The concept of separation of church and state is an important interpretation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, which reads, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof . . . ." The phrase separation of church and state was popularized by Thomas Jefferson in an 1802 letter to the Danbury Baptists. The phrase itself does not appear in any founding American document, but it has been quoted in opinions by the United States Supreme Court. (The first such mention was in Reynolds v. United States, 98 U.S. 145 in 1878.)
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Oaths as a requirement for public service are prohibited by the free exercise clause of the first amendment to the united states constitution. See Torasco v. Watkins for a supreme court case on the issue.
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Your question presumes that church and state are separated, which is generally true but not constitutionally required. The government is only forbidden from establishing a religion or prevented the free exercise of religion. Thus, church and state can be intertwined so long as the state does not give preference to any one religion.
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You don't have to. And if you weren't an xian believer and swore on the bible, it meant nothing.
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You don't.
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