Oaths containing religious content are common in American life. If you’re a fan of courtroom dramas, you’re probably familiar with the phrase “So help me God.”
But not everyone wants to make a religious affirmation when assuming public office or testifying in a trial, and it makes no sense to compel people to violate their consciences when there’s an easy alternative: simply omit that part of the language.
But every now and then, a jurisdiction decides to go to the mat over this. In Greenville County, S.C., James Reel wanted to be a poll worker in 2024. But Reel, an atheist, said he could not recite a mandatory oath ending in “So help me God.” Officials at the Greenville County Voter Registration and Elections Board decided Reel can’t be a poll worker unless he recites the entire oath.
The U.S. Supreme Court in 1961 ruled that a Maryland man who wanted to be a notary public could not be forced to recite a religious oath. The high court based its decision on the First Amendment’s religious freedom provisions, even though there is language at the end of Article VI of the U.S. Constitution barring any “religious test” for “any Office or public Trust under the United States.”
Would a poll worker qualify as an office or public trust? Is Article VI limited to federal office? Those are interesting questions, but they’re irrelevant here. The Supreme Court has already settled the issue under the First Amendment.
AU’s allies at the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) tried to resolve the matter by writing letters on Reel’s behalf, explaining the law. But that failed, so they’ve filed a lawsuit on Reel’s behalf. As blogger Hemant Mehta noted, FFRF has won similar cases in other states.
County officials should not have let this matter end up in court. As Mehta pointed out, the South Carolina Supreme Court ruled in 1997 that religious tests for office, while they remain on the books in the Palmetto State, can’t be enforced.
Reel wanted to perform an important civic duty by working at the polls on election day. One would think county officials would welcome that spirit. Instead, they pushed Reel away on the basis of four words that he can’t, in good conscience, say.
The county should change course and settle this lawsuit. It’s simply not a fight worth having.
