Non-Believers Can’t Hold Public Office In Some States?

December 22, 2009  

Here in the U.S. we (presumably) have the inalienable right to worship or not worship as we see fit without any sort of retribution. This right goes to the core of our Constitution via at least two amendments that date back to the original amendments. Yet there are some who think those that don’t believe in God or a Supreme Being — in others words, an Atheist — should be barred from serving in a public office.

The first amendment:

 “[N]o man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever, nor shall be enforced, restrained, molested, or burthened in his body or goods, nor shall otherwise suffer, on account of his religious opinions or belief; but that all men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinions in matters of religion, and that the same shall in no wise diminish, enlarge, or affect their civil capacities”.

The fourteenth amendment prohibits discrimination, which includes religious beliefs, or the lack of:

“All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws”.

Now to my point.

A local online news service, The Bayou, printed an article today that caught my eye. They called it “Balancing Budgets and God in Texas”. It seems that a conservative group in North Carolina is demanding that Cecil Bothwell, an Atheist, vacate the public office he was duly elected to. As such, The Bayou decided to take a look at our own Texas laws and see if there was anything there that might prevent an Atheist from holding public office in Texas. Lo and behold, there it was: “No religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office, or public trust, in this State; nor shall any one be excluded from holding office on account of his religious sentiments, provided he acknowledge the existence of a Supreme Being [bold added]”. This is found in Section 4 of the Texas Constitution Article I, the Bill of Rights.

In Bothwell’s case, the NC state Constitution bars him from holding pubic office. According to the article The Bayou referenced, Article 6, section 8 reads “The following persons shall be disqualified for office: First, any person who shall deny the being of Almighty God”. Therefore, legally, Bothwell can not serve and can be forced from office, even though, evidently, the majority voted for him.

As far Texas, there are believers who think our Texas law is outdated and should be repealed. Pat Smith, president of the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Lubbock’s board of trustees, said “there is separation of church and state, and which church someone belongs to or whether or not they attend a church should not affect their ability to serve”.

So here we are, with a (slight) variation of many Muslim believers: ‘If you don’t believe the way I do, then you don’t have the same rights as I do’.

Personally, I think anyone should have the right to have, or not have, any religious belief they so desire, so long as it doesn’t interfere with anyone else’s belief and/or place any disadvantages or hardships on any other person. To me, that’s a basic human right no matter what country they hail from.

Years ago, in 1994, I wrote a “Letter to the Editor” of a local newspaper. It was in response to some terrible things that were going on at the time, and the way some people were responding. It is very much in line with the content of this post. You might find it interesting. (If you go to the link, scroll down to letter)