The world collapsed on January 1, when Zohran Mamdani was sworn in as the new mayor of New York City while resting his hand on the Quran. At least that was the consensus of the Christian Nationalists, who donned their sackcloth, sat on their ashes, and wailed away, predicting the imminent return of Jesus on the clouds to carry the Christians to heaven and boot the Muslims down to hell.
Donald Trump used a Bible when he was sworn in, held by his wife, but following the advice of several theologians didn’t touch the Bible while repeating the oath of office, lest he be struck dead by God, who you’ll recall smote Uzzah for touching the Ark of the Covenant. I don’t believe God intervenes in time and space to smite or save, but if Trump had touched the Bible and burst into flames, I would have happily reconsidered my beliefs.
While the president isn’t required by law to place his hand on the Bible, it’s been the customary practice since George Washington did in 1789. I think the world of George Washington, but he blew it on this one. Had he known millions of American would eventually use their Bibles to gut our democracy, I am confident he would have kept his Bible at arm’s length. Thomas Jefferson realized what Washington didn’t, so didn’t use a Bible, nor any other book. Our sixth president, John Quincy Adams, took his oath on a book of law. Calvin Coolidge, Warren G. Harding’s vice president, was back home in Vermont when Harding died, so was sworn in by his father, a notary public descended from the Puritans, who refused to imbue any object with a reverence meant only for God, so left out the Bible bit. Richard Nixon and Donald Trump used two Bibles, from which we can only conclude that the more Bibles a president poses with, the more likely he is to violate its commandments.
If you’re a frequent reader, you know I entertain fantasies of being elected to the presidency. Should that happy day arrive, I will place my hand squarely on the Constitution, the very document I am vowing to preserve, protect, and defend. I surely can’t be the first American to note the irony of placing one’s hand on a Bible while swearing fealty to a document that forbids the government establishment of a religion. Yet the tradition persists, in the vain hope it will cause God to smile favorably on our nation. But I’ve noticed those who champion this practice seldom support the true causes of national greatness─the empowerment of women, public education of the young, progressive taxation, and generous pay. Instead, they believe certain gestures and words, like incantations, will cause God to bless us. Like all superstitions, their beliefs require the suspension of common sense. Worse yet, they reduce our religious texts to good luck charms, employing them as shibboleths to move the mind of God.
One only needs to witness the degradation of democracies at the hands of theocrats to realize the dangers posed by the union of religion and government. There are six theocracies in the world—Iran, Afghanistan, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Mauritania and Vatican City, and I wouldn’t live in any of them if you gave me a free house. I like speaking my mind, which in five of those countries can result in decapitation, and in the sixth nation a rap on the knuckles by an ancient nun, so no thank you.
There is a picture making the rounds, taken in Tehran, Iran in the mid-1970s, of three young women dressed in Western attire, walking down a street on their way to school, smiling, laughing and free. It could have been taken in Paris, London, or New York City. Another photo shows three women walking the same street a decade later clad head to toe in heavy, black cloth, only their eyes exposed. This, my friends, is what happens when ignorant and superstitious men, believing they speak for God, assume power. Mark my words, if it would benefit Donald Trump even the slightest bit, if it would extend his power or increase his wealth one iota, he would happily enlist such revolting men to assist him, and indeed already has. Pete Hegseth attends a church whose pastor doesn’t believe women should vote. Michael Huckabee, who daily prays for Armageddon, is Trump’s point man in the world’s most volatile region. Russell Vought, the architect of Project 2025, sits in the White House, dismembering in months what took our ancestors centuries to build. Less well known, but every bit as dangerous, are the millions of Christian Nationalists who’ve conflated God and country, who won’t rest easy until every American believes as they believe.
There are myths, long in the building, we must dismantle for America to flourish. Chief among them is the antiquated belief that God is committed to our nation and ours alone. In exchange for God’s singular devotion, we must demonstrate our piety, swearing on Bibles, displaying the Ten Commandments in school rooms, beginning our legislative sessions with prayers, and electing to office the most backward and superstitious among us, which is why I was encouraged by the election of Zohran Mamdani. If only he had rested his hand on the Constitution and not the Quran, my joy would have been complete.
Philip Gulley is the author ofthe popularHarmony seriesandUnlearning God: How Unbelieving Helped Me Believe.
Discover my books, stories, and more by visiting Books by Philip Gulley
Contact Philip directly at philiphgulley@gmail.com
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