This Week's Sign of...Well, Something Ridiculous

U.S. Congressman-elect Keith Ellison has chosen to be sworn into office on a Qur'an rather than a Bible. Dennis Prager, a talk show host has protested that "America, not [Mr. Ellison], decides on what book its public servants take their oath."

It seems that most people see this as much ado about nothing - and for that, I'm glad. Contrary to what some would have us believe, the United States of America is a country without a state religion; requiring our elected officials to swear by any holy book, be it the Torah, the Qur'an, the Bible, the Book of Mormon or the Bhagavad Gita, would be antithetical to the concept of the freedom of religion.

"When all elected officials take their oaths of office with their hands on the very same book, they all affirm that some unifying value system underlies American civilization," Prager wrote. "If Keith Ellison is allowed to change that, he will be doing more damage to the unity of America and to the value system that has formed this country than the terrorists of 9/11. It is hard to believe that this is the legacy most Muslim-Americans want to bequeath to America." (quoted from the Minneapolis Star-Tribune)

There IS a unifying value system that underlies American civilization, but it is not the Bible, as some so stridently proclaim. The unifying value system is the Constitution itself. That unifying value system is the guarantor of religious freedom for all American citizens, be they Jewish, Muslim, Christian, Hindu, Ba'hai, some other or none of the above. If any elected officials have felt pressured to swear on a religious text in which they do not believe, that is an unfortunate practice which should be terminated immediately. If the book upon which an elected official swears an oath is a book in which the official does not believe, what is one to think of the oath that elected official has sworn?

I applaud Congressman-elect Ellison for his honesty and his unwillingness to leave behind the faith that informs his values and his life. Would that the rest of us were so honest and forthcoming!