just wondering

[jmc_bks]

Okay, one commentator last night said something about Obama being sworn in with his hand on a bible. Why? I mean, what if he weren’t christian? Well, probably he wouldn’t have been elected in the first place since as a whole America is very provincial and insular, and believing in something other than the Big Three is a sign of being Different or Foreign or Other. Look at the brouhaha in NC with Dole and Hagan, Dole losing in a landslide after calling her rival godless and being rebuffed by Hagan's response about her religious faith.  You can be sure that if Hagan had come out and said, No, I'm not christian, I'm Wiccan that she would not have won that election.  But assuming that he jumped that hurdle, what do you get sworn in on if you think the bible is a piece of fiction?

Comments

[jmc-bks.livejournal.com]

My first thought when pondering your question was whether one could be elected to any office if one did not accept the validity of the state.

[jen-errik.livejournal.com]

You could change the order in which things were done: that instead of having to take an oath after being elected, you had to take it before standing for office - but that effectively disenfranchises everyone who doesn't accept the state.
At the moment it works, practically speaking, because while they're not allowed to take their seats, they say they wouldn't take them even if the oath was changed or abolished. They're paid, and get the same allowances as other MPs.

But it's more an ad hoc solution than a thought through philosophy of government.

Marianne McA