In Maryland, Belief in Afterlife a Requirement for Office

In a manner similar to yesterday's post, the Maryland Constitution (1851) requires that potential office holders make:

"A declaration of belief in the Christian religion; and if the party shall profess to be a Jew the declaration shall be of his belief in a future state of rewards and punishments."

As noted in the book The Federal and State Constitutions, Colonial Charters, and Other Organic Laws of the United States, by Benjamin Perley Poore, published by the Government Printing Office, 1878. See Google Books excerpt...