Constitution's "Supreme Being" Clause Targeted Again
by Zoë Gioja
June 14, 2012
In January, an atheist group will lobby the state Legislature to overturn an obscure clause in the Texas Constitution — one that says candidates for public office must believe in a higher power. The group is following in the litigious footsteps of the late Madalyn Murray O'Hair, who 30 years ago challenged the same provision as an attempt to establish a state religion.
In Article 1, Section 4, the Texas Constitution states: “No religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office, or public trust, in this State; nor shall any one be excluded from holding office on account of his religious sentiments, provided he acknowledge the existence of a Supreme Being.”
In other words, the Constitution maintains freedom of religion, but appears to bar atheists from holding state office. During O'Hair's challenge, she wasn't a candidate for office, hadn't been denied the right to run and couldn't challenge on that ground. The federal courts gave her standing as a voter, but the provision remained in the state's foundational legal document.
And she and then-Attorney General Jim Mattox signed an agreement in federal court that contained this line:
The parties hereby agree that the last phrase, “... provided he acknowledge the existence of a Supreme Being.” is void and of no further effect in that it is in violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.
http://www.texastribune.org/texas-lobbying/lobby-and-lobbyists/texas-atheists-lobby-texas-legislature/
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