Pennsylvania constitution was written to prohibit atheists from holding office!

[yortsed snacilbuper]

Pennsylvania's constitution says that no one shall be disqualified from holding office on account of his religious beliefs – as long as you do believe.

http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2014/07/post_699.html

[LostOne4Ever]

1. Same in Texas (nt)

[malthaussen]

2. You could interpret the language that way, yes.

However, you might also consider that the language does not positively exclude unbelievers from holding office. It also does not positively state that they may not be excluded. I have done some studying of this particular issue. I have concluded that this ambiguity was intentional. The trend in the colonies was to prohibit non-believers, and the law of England prohibited non-Anglicans from office. Pennsylvania was, of course, founded by members of the Society of Friends, and they were naturally more concerned to make sure Friends could hold office in Pennsylvania, than to make sure atheists (or even non-Christians) could do so. Ironically, that led to quite a few problems within the Society and the Commonwealth, but that's another story.

Given the fact that religious tests were quite common for offices of trust or profit in the original Colonies, the contention that the US was not founded as a "Christian nation" tends to lose some validity. Horrible RW talking point though that may be. However, as no such tests are present in the US Constitution, we're back to the claim that it was not so founded. But then again, a good few of the Founders were Deists (that's where the construction "Supreme Being and future state of rewards and punishments" comes from. Notice the absence of Jesus?), so possibly one might best conclude that, while the US was not intended by the Founders to be a strictly Christian nation, they did wish it to be a nation that believed in a Supreme Being. (Religion was, after all, and still is, considered an effective governor of the passions of the people)

For what that is worth. How much the intent of the Founders has relevance in 2014 is a different discussion.

-- Mal

[Curmudgeoness]

3. Yes, as a resident of PA, I am aware of this.

In our county, we had to have a court rule on one of the township commissioners who refused to swear on a Bible or to God. They wanted to throw him out since he should not have been able to be on the ballot. Yes, in the 21st Century. Luckily, the courts ruled that he had a right to be on the ballot and he had won the election, so they had to allow him to "affirm".

The link had some pretty nasty and crazy comments as well. You only think that there are people here who are out to get atheists!

[Brainstormy]

4. Recently visited Philadelphia

and was told on two different tours--one in Independence Hall by a National Parks tour guide and one on a commercial bus tour of the city--that the "fathers" were very liberal in regard to religion in that as long as you worshiped a god, any god, your beliefs would be tolerated. The bus tour guide went on to point out the variety of churches, temples, etc., that existed even in early Philly. No one seemed the slightest bit conscious of any flaws in bragging about this early religious "tolerance."