new elected say..Presidents or P Ministers, they take Oath, by their book of belief, What does it signifies;?
339250
IN the UNited States, mnay people see the oath upon the bible as meerely a nod to tradition.\n\nOur country was founded by many men, all who shared the same religion, who wanted to build the USA with a strong religious backround, hence we get "one nation under God".\n\nNeedless to say we live in a much different world today.  Not all americans pray to the same God, or pray at all. \n\nIn the beginning, presidents used their great great great grandfathers bible during their inaugural oath.  Today presidents are just as likely to use a regular old bible.  Perhaps a reflection of the times.\n\nGood thing or a bad thing, you decide.
19795
Well, the word has 2 meanings, as follows:\n\n1.  To induce someone to convert to one's own religious faith.\n2. To induce someone to join one's own political party or to espouse one's doctrine
1158997
Bush is the first president to be elected based on his theocracy not his democracy. Republicans and the religious right wings impose their belief systems onto our own citizens and then get reelected. I think this encourages their zeal, and they really think they are doing the right thing.
391256
"I will respect the right of any individual to chose not to believe in any form of divinity, without calling that person immoral, idiotic, illogical, or threaten them with any kind of eternal punishment."\n\n"I will respect the right of any individual to believe in any kind of divinity or deity they so wish, whether or not I doubt any such divinity or deity exists, and I will do so without calling that person illogical, idiotic or blind."\n\n"Furthermore, while I will stand up for my own right to believe or not believe in anything I so choose, I will not interfere with another's right to believe or not believe in anything they so choose, as along as they are not harming me or interfering with my rights." \n\n\n\nthe power of cut and paste i love it
66842
This is the oath of office for the President of the United States:\n\n"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."
747376
He knows that many people believe IN him. \n\nAnd, believe is spelt  b e L I E v e. To remember this, think: never beLIEve a LIE.\n\nMany people trust hi, many people believe IN him, many people depend ON him, many people count ON him.
47386
The Bible says to pray for your leaders.  Besides, if you kids could possibly understand the tremendous amount of pressure a president could be under, vacation would bring on a totally different meaning.
617398
I am guessing you have not been in court lately. I don't belive they do that anymore at least not when I went to tour a courthouse.  Would not make much sense for me to swear on a Bible.  But then I would not lie anyway so it would not matter.
114578
Any political or religious personage.
883756
You mean like Democrats and Republicans? They both take an oath of office that says they are to represent ALL the people. That they will do what is best for the WHOLE country. And yet it seems they are only interested in representing the people who voted for them. And even them no more then they think it will take to keep them voting for them.
86895
The actual act of ordaining someone, legally is the recording of them as ordained in your churches records since it would be illegal for any branch of government to tell you how to ordain someone.\n\nAs a side note being that you are in NYS if you want you Ordained Clergy to solemnize marriages in the state, i would advise you to look at the following statue and case law\n\nNYS Statue, Domestic Relations, Art 3-12\n\nRanieri v Ranieri \nRavenal v Ravenal \nRubino v City of New York
978397
Most politicians play to the audience, and if you watch what they say at every speech that can change dramatically. While I do credit the ones who express their faith and really seem to follow it, it depends on what they feel their faith is calling on them to do. For instance certain people of certain religions in the Middle East feel bringing on the "End Times" or "Armageddon" is  what their faith demands of them, I see it as a bad thing and hope they are just making those speeches for popularity sake and not actually serious. We'll know if nukes start going off.
582830
Actually, some jurisdictions understand this very conumdrum and do not require that you swear on the bible. They will hold up another book, a book of the law and justice, to sit in its place.\n\nBy saying "so help me God," the State or federal court is not saying you must believe in God. The Establishment Clause of the Constitution acts as a wall between church and State. It states that the government shall not cater to one religion only with funds or assistance. It keeps the government from becoming entangled with any religion. Therefore, by saying "so help me God," this is simply a time-honored statement made in antiquity by the courts. Many people are unsure of why "oyez oyez" (actually means "hear ye hear ye!") must be shouted out when a court comes to session. Simply, you shouldn't look too much into it. The government knows its distance with religion.
251317
Hmmm. Interesting points raised. \n\nThe Bible's inclusion in the swearing-in ceremony (for both elected officials and witnesses) is strictly symbolic and can be omitted, or replaced with a holy text (and appropriate references) of the person's choosing. The few non-Christian swearings I have heard replaced "so help me God" (or similar) to "by all that I hold dear" (or similar).\n\nChristmas is an interesting observation, as it (at least in the Kansas Judiciary) is the only religious holiday to be an actual paid holiday. The others, if you are wondering, are New Years, Presidents, Memorial, Independence, Labor, Columbus, and Veterans days, and Thanksgiving Weekend (Thursday and Friday). Christmas, at least in my mind, is observed solely because of the overwhelming potential for a "sick-out": if it wasn't given off, people would take it off anyway, and those scheduled to work would call in sick.\n\nAs for the Bible (and other holy texts) being misued by the government; it is a thin line they tread in using it. It is the default for swearing ceremonies precisely because Christianity is the most common religion in the US, and it was understood that a practicioner of Christianity would be remiss to swear to a falsehood. A good percentage of witness swearings now omit the reference to God (Christian or otherwise), and do not use the Bible. \n\nBut the best point in this (rather argumentative) question comes in the final lines. It is a question that I would answer yes for a good number of our legislators; sadly, I must include one (if not both) of my esteemed Senators in their number. It is the reason we must be vigilant when choosing our representation to Congress.
711853
I don't specifically know about public office, but if it works the same as any oath, they simply raise their right hand.\n\nThe Court has held that an affirmation or promise does not require a religious oath.
979596
In essence this is true, although you may want to examine what you mean by politicians.\n\nIn the early Christian times, there were no elected officials. There were various selection processes for leaders of the church. Some of them were appointed by the government leaders, others locally selected. As the church's influence grew, the powerful wanted to have some say in its governance.\n\nThe following were texts that competed for inclusion into the New Testament:\n\n    * Gospel of Thomas\n    * Epistle of Barnabas\n    * 3rd Corinthians\n\nParts of the New Testament (Ephesians, Colossians, 2nd Thessalonians, Hebrews and Revelation) were included despite controversy over their authorship.\n\n"The Birth of Christianity: Discovering What Happened in the Years Immediately After the Execution of Jesus" by John Dominic Crossan is an excellent resource for this era.
883078
In a country where the president admits that he hears his god's voice, and is not immediately removed from office, what do you expect?