The Texas State Constitution, Article I, Section 4 (from:
http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/...tions/cn000100-000400.html)
"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."
(Pause for laughter)
Is such a clause enforceable in the United States? Is it being enforced in Texas right now? Are such clauses (or laws) common elsewhere in the US?
What about the definition of "Supreme Being"? I'm sure that Jews, Christians, and Muslims will be fine under that clause, but what about, say, Native Americans practicing their traditional religions? Hinduism? Jainism? Do they have a *supreme* being, that is one diety held above all others? I don't believe so but I'm not really up on my comparative religion. And I think that Buddhists would be ineligible for public office under that clause because they don't believe in a supreme *being*.
Could an atheist say something like "I believe in a supreme being: myself" or something like that and get around the requirement?
Chris
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