this post was submitted on 16 Apr 2026
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Was it ever really a thing though [in the US]? Like aren't presidents sworn in on a Bible or something? And it says something about God on the money? And the pledge of allegiance? (The USA is a cult, btw)
Before the Civil War, there was more separation. Things really started going out of wack in the 1950s (that's when "God" was printed on paper money). The swearing on the bible thing is a tradition from England. At US's founding 17% of the population were church members. In the the 1950s, 70% were. Now it's < 50%.
Presidents can be sworn in on whatever they want. At least one has used something else, although I don't recall who or what it was.
John Quincy Adams chose "The Volume of Laws" in 1825. Teddy Roosevelt had nothing right after McKinley's assassination in 1901. The only other oddball I see is Lyndon B Johnson used the closest prayer book after JFK's assassination
That all changed during the “Red Scare” in the 1950’s. Swearing in on a bible is optional and lower offices have used e.g. a Quran in the past.