by Dorothy Jo Bourbeau

Created on: November 17, 2007

This country was founded for the purpose of offering the religious freedom that people couldn't get in Europe. As good a reason as any to found a new nation. At the time the people who came here for that religious freedom did so not because they didn't believe in God, they didn't believe in the people, the very human people, running the churches. They wanted to get closer to what they believed God truly wanted.

Prior to the Revolutionary War, our borders were only open to a limited few. Only those who didn't mind being ruled by England. That all changed when we won independence. After that anyone could come, and come they did. True, most were still Christian, but over the centuries that has changed. We are a country of diverse people with diverse beliefs. That should be taken into account whenever an oath is given or taken.

We assume that the people we elect have the same beliefs we do. For the most part that seemed to be true in the past. As far as I know no elected official said otherwise. At least not till now, now we have Barack Obama. He has no problem admitting he does not believe in the same God as most Americans. He has objected publicly to taking an oath on the Bible because it would mean nothing to him. I not sure whether or not I agree with his political views, but I am sure I agree with his argument not to be sworn in using the Bible. It is not a part of his religion. Swearing an oath on the Bible would mean as much to him as swearing on oath on Moby Dick.

We want to believe our elected officials are going to live up to the oaths they take. How can we believe that if we know ahead of time that the oath they are taking means nothing to them?
Look at all the scandals the White House has been involved in since the beginning of the country. Taking an oath on the Bible didn't stop Bill Clinton from lying to a grand jury about his extra marital affair. Taking an oath on the Bible didn't stop Richard Nixon from bugging Watergate. Why would taking an oath on the Bible stop someone who doesn't believe in the God represented by that Bible from lying about his or her actions?

For an oath to mean anything, the person taking that oath has to believe that something bad is going to happen if that oath is broken. If a person is swearing to a power he or she doesn't believe in the oath means nothing. Oaths that mean nothing are going to be broken.

Either we are a nation that truly believes that all people have the right to religious freedom or we're not. If we are than

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