Councilman's atheism stirs political fight

[NC YIPPIE]

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Asheville City Councilman Cecil Bothwell believes in ending the death penalty, conserving water and reforming government -- but he doesn't believe in God.

His political opponents say that's a sin that makes him unworthy of serving in office, and they have the state Constitution on their side.

Bothwell's detractors threaten to take the city to court for swearing him in, even though the state's antiquated requirement that officeholders believe in God is unenforceable because it violates the U.S. Constitution.

"The question of whether or not God exists is not particularly interesting to me, and it's certainly not relevant to public office," said Bothwell, who is 59.

http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/national_world/stories/2009/12/13/godless_1212.ART_ART_12-13-09_A10_NBFVQOO.html

[Beel]

Clearly the first test of a politician is sanctimony and the ability to say nothing while seeming to take a real position.  The Councilman's common sense and rationality surely will continue to reduce his effectiveness at featherbedding and making deals with the real estate interests that run city and county government in most locales.

[belle]

I am not doubting the original article exactly, but I find it odd the State Constitution requires a belief in God to hold office.

Article 6 of the U.S. Constitution states:

"No religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States."

The free exercise clause of the First Amendment to the Constitution states:

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..."

The 14th Amendment to the Constitution, proclaimed adopted on 1868-JUL-21, states:

"No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States."

http://www.religioustolerance.org/texas1.htm

[seavey]

http://www.citizen-times.com/article/20091214/NEWS01/312140021

According to the article, NC is not alone.  "Six other states — Arkansas, Maryland, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas — have similar provisions barring atheist officeholders. Constitutional law experts, though, say such laws are unenforceable."

[belle]

this was ruled on, almost 50 years ago. why is our Constitution in NC still so bckward?

The court ruled unanimously in Torcaso's favor. Justice Black, writing for the justices summed up their decision in one elegant sentence:

"This Maryland test for public office cannot be enforced against appellant, because it unconstitutionally invades his freedom of belief and religion guaranteed by the First Amendment and protected by the Fourteenth Amendment from infringement by the States."

This ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court presumably makes all of the religious tests for office in the various states unconstitutional.

During the hearing before the Supreme Court, the state tried to make the case that the religious test did not impinge on Torcaso's religious freedom. They stated:

"The petitioner is not compelled to believe or disbelieve, under threat of punishment or other compulsion. True, unless he makes the declaration of belief he cannot hold public office in Maryland, but he is not compelled to hold office."

Before being too critical of the state in making such an outrageous case, it must be remembered that is their lawyers' duty to uphold their state constitution no matter how biased, disgusting and bigoted it is.

Mr. Justice Black wrote for all the court justices. In our opinion, this should be part of the curricula of every high school in the U.S.:

"There is, and can be, no dispute about the purpose or effect of the Maryland Declaration of Rights requirement before us - it sets up a religious test which [it] was designed to and, if valid, does bar every person who refuses to declare a belief in God from holding a public 'office of profit or trust' in Maryland. The power and authority of the State of Maryland thus is put on the side of one particular sort of believers - those who are willing to say they believe in 'the existence of God.' It is true that there is much historical precedent for such laws. Indeed, it was largely to escape religious test oaths and declarations that a great many of the early colonists left Europe and came here hoping to worship in their own way. It soon developed, however, that many of those who had fled to escape religious test oaths turned out to be perfectly willing, when they had the power to do so, to force dissenters from their faith to take test oaths in conformity with that faith. This brought on a host of laws in the new Colonies imposing burdens and disabilities of various kinds upon varied beliefs depending largely upon what group happened to be politically strong enough to legislate in favor of its own beliefs. The effect of all this was the formal or practical 'establishment' of particular religious faiths in most of the Colonies, with consequent burdens imposed on the free exercise of the faiths of nonfavored believers....."

When our [Federal] Constitution was adopted, the desire to put the people 'securely beyond the reach' of religious test oaths brought about the inclusion in Article VI of that document of a provision that 'no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States'....."

http://www.religioustolerance.org/texas1.htm

OTOH, maybe never mind why, exactly.

[NC YIPPIE]

The shocking thing is not that it is in the state constitution, but that as quoted in the article, there are still conservatives who want to try to enforce what is clearly an unconstitutional law. "I have problems with people who don't believe in God"?

What an obnoxious and juvenile viewpoint.

[SBB]

Stupid, outdated laws should be removed rather than just ignored.  Some other outdated NC laws according to 
http://www.dumblaws.com/laws/united-states/north-carolina:

No one may be a professional fortune-teller, and if one wishes to pursue the practice as an amateur, it must be practiced in a school or church.

It’s against the law to sing off key.

Elephants may not be used to plow cotton fields.

While having sex, you must stay in the missionary position and have the shades pulled.

If a man and a woman who aren’t married go to a hotel/motel and register themselves as married then, according to state law, they are legally married.

All couples staying overnight in a hotel must have a room with double beds that are at least two feet apart.

It is illegal to have sex in a churchyard.

Oral sex is considered a crime against nature.

A marriage can be declared void if either of the two persons is physically impotent.

Persons in possession of illegal substances must pay taxes on them.

Organizations may not hold their meetings while the members present are in costume. (I imagine the costumes they were talking about were probably sheets).

[srvfan]

If a man and a woman who aren’t married go to a hotel/motel and register themselves as married then, according to state law, they are legally married.

wow, I bet that means a lot of people in NC are bigamists and don't even know it 

[djkelly]

I thought this article was much ado about nothing when I first saw it. 

I'm not surprised to learn there's such a requirement in the state Constitution as there are plenty of ridiculous things in there that are never enforced.  It's easier to just ignore them to remove them because trying to remove them will make them a political issue and people will take advantage of that.

I'm not so sure his opponents are really that upset that he claims to be an atheist but are more likely to just be using it as a possible way to get him out of office so their candidate would have another chance.  It's more likely politics than true belief.

On the other hand, some people do feel that belief in some higher power is necessary to hold someone to an oath.  I prefer to believe that it's a person's word and integrity that holds them to an oath even if they claim otherwise.

[seavey]

Thanks for the link, SBB.  I was surprised to leran that part of my spiritual practice is illegal in the State of North Carolina.  Not infrequently, I use divinatory techniques as a sort of spiritual Rorschach test or a guide for meditation and prayer.  Turns out that "the practice the arts of phrenology, palmistry, clairvoyance, fortune-telling and other crafts of a similar kind" is "a Class 2 misdemeanor" when practiced in my own home. 

[NC YIPPIE]

Yes, you often see stories about old laws like you can't ride a horse on Sunday or whatever, but this article was a bit different in that respect. You actually have a few folks saying that a clearly discriminating law like that has a place in our country. Folks who disagree with the law should not just sit back and let others speak for them.

Freedom of religion or non-religion is an important thing to take a stand on.

[Tags:]

Jump to: Please select a destination: ----------------------------- Chatham County Online ----------------------------- => Chatham County Online => Chatham County Schools => Chatham County Food & Drink => Chatham County Music & Arts => Chatham Community Calendar => Free Classifieds & Help Wanted Ads => Noah's Ark - All Creatures Great & Small. => Neighbor to Neighbor => Gardening and Agriculture => Chatham County Real Estate => North Carolina => This, That and Everything Else