State Law At Issue
North Carolina's oath-taking practices "date to 1777 but have evolved over the years." North Carolina's legislature first passed the oath-taking statutes in 1777. At that time, the title of the statute was 'Administration of oath upon the Gospels.' In 1985 the word "Gospels" was replaced by the term "Holy Scriptures".
Currently the North Carolina General statute on oath taking (§11-2) states: (emphasis added) “Judges and other persons who may be empowered to administer oaths, shall (except in the cases in this Chapter excepted) require the party to be sworn to lay his hand upon the Holy Scriptures, in token of his engagement to speak the truth and in further token that, if he should swerve from the truth, he may be justly deprived of all the blessings of the holy book and made liable to that vengeance which he has imprecated on his own head.”
Prior to 1985 amendments to N.C.G.S. § 11-2, the statutory section read that Judges shall “require the party sworn to lay his hand upon the Holy Evangelists of Almighty God”.
Read more about this topic: ACLU Of N.C. & Syidah Matteen V. State Of North Carolina
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