When It Says Religious Test, It Doesn't Mean Test Like the S.A.T.

(Crossposted from the American Constitution Society :: Columbia Law School)

The American Family Association – worried that newly-elected Representative Keith Ellison (D-MN), who happens to be Muslim, will be sworn in with his hand on the Koran (instead of the Christian Bible) – is urging its members to do the following:

1. Send an email asking your U.S. Representative and Senators to pass a law making the Bible the book used in the swearing-in ceremony of Representatives and Senators.


2. Forward this email to your friends and family today!

Never mind that Representatives don't place their hands on anything when they're sworn in en masse. How the AFA-proposed law wouldn't violate Article VI, Section 3 is beyond me:

The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the members of the several state legislatures, and all executive and judicial officers, both of the United States and of the several states, shall be bound by oath or affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States. (emphasis added)

Too many more oversights like this and I'm going to stop turning to the American Family Association for my constitutional theory.