Bob Scott was recently elected mayor of Franklin, North Carolina. But when he was sworn in, he didn’t choose to place his hand on a Bible, as is so often done by public officials. As a matter of fact, he didn’t use any religious book at all.
Instead, he placed his hand on a copy of the Constitution. And he explains why:
“I’ve thought about it for a long time. But I was talking to Summer [Franklin Town Manager] the other day and said I’m thinking about taking this oath on the Constitution. I realized we are taking an oath to defend the Constitution, pure and simple, and those are the laws of the land. And if I’m gonna give an oath, that’s what I’m giving an oath to. It had nothing to do with religion–for or against–just swearing to protect and defend the Constitution.”
Mayor Scott is a non-religious person. He considers himself to be a Humanist, and is a firm believer that church and state should be kept separate at all times:
“We do not represent any religion, what we represent are the laws of the land. As far as I’m concerned, there is no place in government for religion. I’m a secularist in that respect. I just don’t think there’s a place for any kind of religious doctrine in government, because we represent everybody.”
This seems like a logical and long overdue change we should make when public officials take an oath of office. If you are swearing to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution, shouldn’t your hand be placed on a copy of that document? Why do we still seem to be so wedded to the ways of the past?
Personally, I hope Mayor Scott’s actions will encourage other public servants to do the same. Religion has no place in government. Never has and never will.
