I was served a summons for jury duty. Suspecting at some point to give an oath I wondered how this is done for an atheist. This is what I found:

Today it is well settled that the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution denies the government any authority to coerce a person into performing a religious act, including swearing oaths on a bible.4 To that end, the federal court system and most state court systems have established rules explicitly providing for witnesses to give either an oath, whether on a bible or other religious scripture, or an affirmation.5

If you should find yourself in a position to “swear or affirm,” whether as a witness, as a jury member, or as a requirement of accepting government employment, let the official administering the oath know in advance that you wish to give an affirmation, rather than swear an oath. If you’re a witness, this may mean letting the attorney who intends to call you to the stand know to inform the deputy of your preference. If being sworn in for a jury, or attesting to the accuracy of a document before a notary public, or as part of a government job, speak to the person administering the oath yourself.

If, after you have made the person administering the oath aware of your preference, the person refuses to allow you to give an affirmation, please let us know by submitting an incident report to the American Atheists Legal Center.