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Ironically, Following Jesus’ Counsel

Posted by John on January 23rd, 2008 at 12:44 am · 17 Comments

To “swear not at all.”

I received a jury summons today, and after reading it, realized that I might run into some difficulties as a Quaker and an atheist. Any Quakers or atheists out there want to tell me how I can avoid swearing an oath on the Bible, so help me God?

Update: After rereading this, I just realized I should clarify why Quakers have problems with this (the atheist part should be obvious).  Quakers have a long tradition of not swearing oaths–many were imprisoned in England in the 17th century for refusing to do so.  They’re the reason the ability to affirm is protected in the Constitution.  Quaker president Herbert Hoover was “affirmed in” as the chief executive.

I know I can assert my right to affirm and to not base my truth-telling on any supernatural authority, but I’m curious to know how this will play out.  Will all the jurors be generically offered this option (I think we’re all sworn in at once), or will I have to be a pain in the butt and draw unwanted attention to myself to take this option?

That said, on issues like this, my Japanese conformist “don’t rock the boat” character is thoroughly suppressed.  My “you can’t make me act against my conscience, you big overbearing religious hierarchy” side will prevail, I know.  Also, having studied ritual theory for so long, I am well aware of the power in breaking ritual patterns.  I’ll keep you all posted on how it all plays out.

Tags: Atheism · Quakerism · Ritual

17 responses so far ↓

  • 1 Brian // Jan 23, 2008 at 1:02 am

    Well, I’m neither a Quaker nor an atheist, but as this is an interesting question, I thought I’d look it up a bit. I turned up this blog post which, while rather offensive to my backwards irrational mythological views, seems to address the issue:

    http://aredant.blogspot.com/2007/11/atheists-guide-to-jury-duty.html

    Seems that (from what I’ve seen) most places either avoid the language of oath, for both religious and non-religious sensibilities, or allow some form of legally binding “affirmation”.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affirmation#Affirmation_in_law

    Hope that is helpful!

    pax vobiscum

  • 2 C. L. Hanson // Jan 23, 2008 at 2:38 am

    Follow the exterminator’s example and switch it to “so help me Rhonda.” ;)

  • 3 JoeR // Jan 23, 2008 at 5:27 am

    It sounds like you can request “an affirmation” or just leave off the “so help me God”. On a similar note, I leave out the “under God” from the Pledge of Allegiance.

    http://aredant.blogspot.com/2007/11/atheists-guide-to-jury-duty.html

    You could also just say that you can sniff out the guilty through the help of the voices in your head. They tell you the guilty must hang till they breath no more, then their bodies burned before the setting of the sun…. just a thought. :P

  • 4 Kevin // Jan 23, 2008 at 9:03 am

    Since jury members don’t testify (only the witnesses do) there’d be no reason that you’d have to swear on anything.

  • 5 John // Jan 23, 2008 at 9:18 am

    Thanks, everyone! I had found the same post that both Brian and Joe referred to. I’m hoping to hear some personal experiences as well.

    Chanson, that link is hilarious!

    Brian, this is a total aside: I’m not sure how much your tongue was in your cheek when you said, “rather offensive to my backwards irrational mythological views,” but can I just say how much I appreciate the balance you bring to our conversation here? I may not always agree with you, but your arguments are smart and keep me on my toes. Thank you.

    Kevin, I’m not sure what the differences are from court to court, but in Orange County, jurors take an oath against perjury at the beginning of the jury selection process.

    Oaths pop up in strange places. I had to sign a state loyalty oath when I began working at UCI (before I had issues with oaths).

  • 6 John White // Jan 23, 2008 at 10:44 am

    It’s easy. Just tell them you’re Quaker. They have a standard procedure.

  • 7 xJane // Jan 23, 2008 at 12:26 pm

    heh, yeah in LA County they don’t make us swear, so I wouldn’t know. I think John W’s got the right answer: either tell them you’re an atheist or tell them you’re a Quaker. No real need to muddy the waters by telling them you’re both :-p

  • 8 Brooke // Jan 23, 2008 at 9:06 pm

    Hey, I am calling in this week for possible jury duty!

    I don’t know how comfortable I would be “swearing in” on the Bible, and I’m not an atheist.

  • 9 John // Jan 23, 2008 at 11:40 pm

    Brooke, it seems like the “affirmation” option is there for a variety of reasons, including people who are just plain uncomfortable with swearing. Let me know how your experience goes!

  • 10 The Exterminator // Jan 24, 2008 at 7:58 am

    I was called for jury duty last year. The state I live in is not famous for its toleration of atheists.

    When the jury was sworn in collectively for the voir dire, I objected and explained to the judge (and everyone else in earshot) that I was an atheist and didn’t believe in god. So I was asked to affirm instead, which I did.

    The attorneys for both questioned us prospective jurors about our personal lives and attitudes. Not one of these attorneys asked me about my irreligion.

    Later, I was picked to be on the jury. My being selected meant that none of the lawyers involved on either side found my freethinking objectionable for their case. When the jury was sworn in, the clerk of the court remembered that I was an atheist, and modified the swearing-in accordingly without my prompting.

    When we on the jury argued about the verdict for a few hours, none of my fellow jury members challenged my opinion on the grounds of my godlessness.

    I must say: I was a little disappointed.

  • 11 John // Jan 24, 2008 at 3:13 pm

    Exterminator–that was exactly the kind of first-hand experience I was hoping to hear about (and I look forward to hearing Brooke’s, since we’re in the same county). I’m almost sorry you were disappointed. :)

    Actually, I’m encouraged that you can be in a state that is known for a particular attitude, but when you asserted yourself, seemed to take it in stride. Maybe there’s hope for people after all?

  • 12 xJane // Jan 24, 2008 at 6:22 pm

    maybe they didn’t want to get sued…

  • 13 Brian // Jan 25, 2008 at 9:20 am

    John, my tongue is usually pretty firmly in cheek. I’m sure you’ve picked up, that’s pretty much my tone. I didn’t say it in regards to anything you have ever said or intimated, but in response to the tone of the article I was linking, which, if I remember went out of its way to mock theism and called the Bible the “Book of Christian Mythology” or something like that. Not that I can fault him for mocking the Bible’s narrative style in a way similar to what I myself have done. God tends to repeat himself a lot, but I always figured it was because he knew His people weren’t really listening that closely. :D

  • 14 xJane // Mar 6, 2008 at 6:17 pm

    A Quaker who worked at Cal State (East Bay) was fired for modifying an oath that she was required to sign. And the Court upheld the action. California, apparently, is more important than god.

  • 15 John // Mar 6, 2008 at 6:37 pm

    xJane, I don’t think it’s gone to court (yet). The university cited a prior case to defend their firing of Kearney-Brown.

    I’ve read a few news reports about the firing, and I suspect I’ll be hearing more through the Quaker grapevine (not silent, by the way) in the next week or two. I signed my UC loyalty oath when I was hired over six years ago, and I’m tempted to go back and review it. A lot has changed in the intervening years.

  • 16 wren // Mar 9, 2008 at 6:08 pm

    Getting to this post rather late, but I think you should take a cue from Galaxy Quest and swear “By Grabthar’s hammer…”. :)

  • 17 xJane // Mar 10, 2008 at 2:28 pm

    ahaha! love it! I have a coworker who says “Great Scott!” like Doc Brown.

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