The durability of American religious belief refutes the once-canonical thesis that modernization and secularization necessarily go hand in hand. This is all the more remarkable because our Founders drafted a deliberately secular constitution. In 20 quietly revolutionary words, Article VI declares that “[N]o religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.” Consistent with that prohibition, newly elected officials—from the president on down—may choose either to “swear” (that is, to take a religious oath) or simply to “affirm” their loyalty to the Constitution.
Posted on: Wed, 31 Dec 2014 15:08:00 +0000