Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Tennessee Constitution - Belief in God Required to Hold Office

The Constitution of the state of Tennessee (1796) says:

Preamble
"...by an act passed on the Twenty-seventh day of November, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty-three..."
[Note: use of "year of our Lord" was simply a formal way of expressing the date, but why was it such common usage?]

Article I, Section HI, Declaration of Right
"That all men have a natural and indefeasible right to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of their conscience."
[Note: the reference is not just "God," but "Almighty God"]

ARTICLE IX - Disqualifications, Section 2
"No person who denies the being of God, or a future state of rewards and punishments, shall hold any office in the civil department of this state."

Read the entire Tennessee Constitution

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