this post was submitted on 25 Jun 2023
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Atheism
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It's actually illegal for atheists to hold public office in several states. I'm not sure if that would legally hold up in court but much of systemic inequalities in the US never make it to court.
Wth seriously?
The states are Arkansas, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas.
The U.S. Constitution states in Article 6 that "no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States."
In 1961, the Supreme Court ruled in Torcaso v. Watkins that a person could not be denied the office of notary public for not being a believer because it "unconstitutionally invades his freedom of belief and religion guaranteed by the First Amendment and protected by the Fourteenth Amendment from infringement by the States."
Source: (no paywall) https://www.statesman.com/story/news/politics/politifact/2021/11/10/7-states-ban-atheists-office-but-bans-unenforceable/6352254001/
Thanks!
Yup. The law is still on the books. It's been determined to be unenforceable, but that law still exists.
Here's an article by the Washington post on it but yeah it looks like 8 states.
Thanks!