Do we really still need this archaic pantomime?
I find it very interesting that in 2017, our court system still uses the bible as a way to ensure people are telling the truth under oath. For years atheists and leaders of religions other than Christianity have chafed under the fact that "in god we trust" is on our money, in courtrooms, was added to the national anthem years after it was originally written... It's everywhere. Christianity takes the lead in the US and probably will for many years, given that pretty much the entire government is run by Christians frothing at the mouth to shove their beliefs down the rest of our throats.
But lately I've been wondering about something else. Swearing in, based on the bible. You see it in movies, tv shows, and I assume real life. When a witness takes the stand in a court of law, or any serious oath is being given, a person is "sworn in" by placing their hand on the bible and making a promise to tell the truth and act to the best of their ability. Well, my question is, what if that person doesn't believe in the Christian god? An atheist certainly isn't going to feel bound to the truth by being forced to swear their honesty on a bible. That's almost insulting, saying; "Here's this religious artifact only important to me, now i'm going to completely disregard your spirituality or lack thereof, and make you swallow mine instead".
It's probably even more insulting to someone of a different faith. Is it right to make a Hindu swear their honesty on a religious artifact from a completely different religion and culture? What about a Catholic? Do they use a Catholic First Testament bible? Or a Jewish person - does the court have a Torah on hand for these situations? I've never heard of it. Don't even get me started on people of Muslim faith and the Quran. We already insult them enough by calling the entire religion "terrorists". I highly doubt courts keep a Quran on hand, even if they didn't automatically exclude someone from the jury pool for being something other than Christian. But with witnesses, they don't have a choice about selecting for religion. A witness is as he/she comes. So how do they deal with that?
After some research I found some answers that provide some more insight. Apparently, they can change the wording of the standard phrase upon request to allow one to "affirm" instead of "swear" and you don't actually have to say "so help me god" or put your hand on a bible. It's irritating that to be truthful, you have to request this alternative in advance and inform the court of your non-belief before you even enter a courtroom, but it's still frustrating that we are still bound to the Christian faith, weather we like it or not. I take that somewhat personally, as I would like all mentions of a specific religion to be obliterated from all sectors of government. I suppose I could suck it up and deal with a mention of "to whatever god(s) you worship" or some such thing. But being blatantly told that only the Judeo-Christian God with a capital "G" will show my honesty and integrity is truly insulting, and makes me want to tell them to stick their god with a capital "G" where the sun don't shine. That probably wouldn't go over very well in a courtroom, to say the least.
