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| 15-April-2025 |
We welcome this bill as a further indication of how a secular state would protect equally both religious and nonreligious citizens, and we urge all TDs, Senators, and political parties to support it.
On taking office all Judges must take a religious oath. Because the oath is written into the Constitution, there is no alternative. Either you take this religious oath or you don’t take up office as a judge.
On taking office all Judges must take a religious oath. Because the oath is written into the Constitution, there is no alternative. Either you take this religious oath or you don’t take up office as a judge.
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Atheist Ireland meets Barry Ward TD about judicial oaths bill |
Article 34.6.1 of the Irish Constitution states that:
In the presence of Almighty God I do solemnly and sincerely promise and declare that I will duly and faithfully and to the best of my knowledge and power execute the office of Chief Justice (or as the case may be) without fear or favour, affection or ill-will towards any man, and that I will uphold the Constitution and the laws. May God direct and sustain me.
If it was the other way around and every potential judge was required by the Constitution to declare that there was no god, then it would clearly be seen as a breach of the right to freedom of conscience, religion and belief.
Unfortunately the very people who claim that religion in Ireland is under attack don’t support the Bill. They are not committed to freedom of conscience, religion or belief.
It is not only atheists and the non-religious who refuse to take a religious oath on the basis of conscience, but also some religious minorities such as Quakers.
The Thirty-ninth Amendment of the Constitution (Judicial Oath of Office) Bill 2025 proposes a referendum to remove completely the requirement to take a religious oath from the Constitution.
The Constitutional Review Group of 1996 recommended that the religious oath be replaced by a single impartial declaration, and that there not be an option between a religious oath and a declaration. The majority of the Group concluded that:
It does not appear desirable that a judge be required openly to choose between two forms of declaration thereby indicating his or her religious beliefs. The daily exercise of the judicial function requires that a judge’s impartiality should not be put in doubt by a public declaration of personal values.
The United Nations has recommended that Ireland remove religious oaths from the Constitution as they breach the right to freedom of conscience, religion and belief.
Whether you are religious or non-religious, you should support this Bill in order to uphold the right to freedom of conscience, religion and belief.
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