<\/strong>Non-believers need not apply. According to AlterNet<\/a>, in seven U.S. states, if you don\u2019t recognize the existence of a supreme being, you are banned from holding public office. \u00a0This is for real. Here are the statutes that officially disqualify atheists from exercising their civil right to run for office, or to be appointed:<\/p>\n

The Arkansas State Constitution<\/a> was drawn up in 1874. Article 19, Section 1 states \u201cNo person who denies the being of a God shall hold any office in the civil departments of this State, nor be competent to testify as a witness in any Court.\u201d<\/p>\n

[It’s bad enough that if you are an unbeliever in Arkansas, you could, under the state constitution, forfeit a basic democratic right. But if you\u2019re not willing to say, \u201cso help me God,\u201d you can\u2019t even testify at a trial.]<\/p>\n

Maryland, article 37, says<\/strong>, “That no religious test ought ever to be required as a qualification for any office of profit or trust in this State, other than a declaration of belief in the existence of God.”\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Similarly:<\/p>\n

Texas’ State Constitution, Article 1, Section 4<\/strong>: “RELIGIOUS TESTS.\u00a0 No religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office, or public trust, in this State; nor shall anyone be excluded from holding office on account of his religious sentiments, provided he acknowledge the existence of a Supreme Being.”<\/p>\n

[Let me see if I understand this one: In Maryland and Texas, following either of the two religions most reviled by religious bigots\u2014Mormonism and Islam\u2014can\u2019t keep you from holding office, but not believing can. I guess those religions are much less awful than no religion at all.]<\/p>\n

Mississippi<\/strong>, Article M, Section 265 :\u00a0 \u201cNo person who denies the existence of a Supreme Being shall hold any office in this state.”<\/p>\n

Pennsylvania<\/strong>, Article I, Section 4: “No person who acknowledges the being of a God and a future state of rewards and punishments shall, on account of his religious sentiments, be disqualified to hold any office or place of trust or profit under this Commonwealth.”<\/p>\n

[So, in Pennsylvania, you\u2019re also out of luck if you don\u2019t accept the existence of a heaven or a hell.]<\/p>\n

South Carolina<\/strong>, Article 17, Section 4 “No person who denies the existence of the Supreme Being shall hold any office under this Constitution.”<\/p>\n

[However, it\u2019s probably okay in South Carolina if you \u201cdeny the existence\u201d of climate change, racial prejudice or religious bigotry.]<\/p>\n

Tennessee<\/strong>, Article 9, Section 2: “No person who denies the being of God, or a future state of rewards and punishments, shall hold any office in the civil department of this state.”<\/p>\n

[\u201cImagine there\u2019s no heaven\u2026\u201d and then imagine the door slamming on your chance to hold office in Tennessee.]<\/p>\n

Of course, these statutes are essentially unenforceable, for obvious reasons. But the fact that we don\u2019t currently have thought police, or mind-reading software, or an Inquisition, doesn\u2019t give me much comfort. In a time when radical, fundamentalist religious zealotry is on the rise, it’s downright scary to read these constitutional statutes that disenfranchise people whose beliefs aren\u2019t religiously pure–or even just religious.<\/p>\n

And sure, you can argue that these statutes are relics of the past\u2014just quaint laws, like\u00a0 the City of Boston’s Ordinance 16-15.3,<\/a> which makes it illegal to drive a horse-drawn carriage through the snow or ice with fewer than three bells attached<\/p>\n

But, wait: A lot of old issues that we thought were settled\u2014things like the right to privacy, the right to collectively bargain, and the right to vote\u2014are under fire by corporate interests, Bible-thumpers and anti-woman warriors.\u00a0 Is it that hard to imagine some sanctimonious, right-wing state legislator in one of the seven previously mentioned states standing up, Bible in one hand, state constitution in the other, railing against the rights of the godless in his or her state?\u00a0 That’s something that this non-believer believes is possible.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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