by TChris

How absurd is this?

North Carolina's Supreme Court ordered a judge Tuesday to restore references to God used when he enters the courtroom and when witnesses swear to tell the truth.

The judge quite reasonably viewed the court system as serving everyone, not just those who believe in God.

Honeycutt told officials in March he was revising the oath because of the increasing number of non-Christians and people of diverse beliefs served by the court system.

Although state law allows a witness to "affirm" that he will tell the truth without swearing an oath to God, juries notice if every witness but one swears an oath that mentions God. That's not fair to the party calling the witness who wants to affirm.

References to God in an oath do not make an oath any more binding or meaningful. A common "one size fits all" oath serves just as well: "Do you swear or affirm that the testimony you are about to give will be the truth?"