Want To Run For Office In Texas? Better Bring God With You..
Filed Under (Deep Thoughts) by Ian on 19-04-2007
Great news for anyone living in Texas who wants to run for public office! It turns out, to be a public servant, you must in fact be a believer in a ’supreme being’.
No religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office, or public trust, in this State; nor shall any one be excluded from holding office on account of his religious sentiments, provided he acknowledge the existence of a Supreme Being.
It might seem a little vague however; when they say supreme being do they mean like Nazi Supermen? or how about the existence of Neo from the matrix? He was pretty supreme, right? I personally favor the FSM, that noodly bastard can gain my belief any day. Does that count?
Of course, were this to actually be challenged on the basis that it’s completely unconstitutional (against the United States Constitution, under the first amendment), I’m fairly certain an objective judge would have it overturned. Still, it’s always nice to see the hostility non-believers get from religious folk who want to force people to believe in god(s). Last I checked, “faith” and “belief” are both supposed to be things you freely choose, not have forced on you.
Oh no, it’s not against the Constitution; they just say that you can’t have a religious test, and this states that there will be no religious test. Totally constitutional.
Texas isn’t the only one, there are two or three more states, and people have actually been denied office. This is Bush Senior’s doing.
it *is* against the constitution. They say that, on the one hand, there won’t be a religious test, but then go on to say… “nor shall any one be excluded…provided he acknowledge the existence of a supreme being.” In other words, it doesn’t matter what religion you are, but it has to be monotheistic, and you must believe in it.
ridiculous.
I’m not sure if it’s against the constitution or not; it’s just plain nonsensical. There will be no religious test provided you pass this religious test just doesn’t work.
Not only does this exclude atheists, it would also block believers in many actual religions, the most popular being Buddhism. Buddhists don’t believe in any gods, thus a person is blocked because of their religion. So this is a religious test, even if you allow a person to be prohibited because of their lack of faith. Yet another reason to hate Texas.
This doesn’t violate the first amendment, it violates Article VI, which states that “The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the members of the several state legislatures, and all executive and judicial officers, both of the United States and of the several states, shall be bound by oath or affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.”
It’s the only other mention of religion in the Constitution, and it restricts the application of religion to the political process.
This does not violate the U.S. constituition. The first amendment was originally written to keep the US government from fining or imprisonment upon a citizen. The states were still free to do as they wish, until the fourteenth amendment changed the course of all state governments, which makes states acknolwedge life, liberty, or property without due process as the US does. This is also known as the “equal protection” clause. Freedom of speech would not apply to something on campus, for example. You could get expelled for saying something extremely radical, but not be in trouble by the US government for saying it. I like your lack of intelligence dantes_torment by saying that this was bush’s doing. Shows how little you really know. In the end, if this was ever a concern, this would go to the State Appellate Court, then possibly appealed to the US supreme court.