this post was submitted on 25 Jun 2023
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Atheism

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[–] Akasazh@lemmy.ml 10 points 1 year ago (3 children)
[–] AvailableFill74@lemmy.ml 8 points 1 year ago (1 children)

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/

[–] Akasazh@lemmy.ml 3 points 1 year ago
[–] kent_eh@lemmy.ca 5 points 1 year ago

Yup. The law is still on the books. It's been determined to be unenforceable, but that law still exists.