Chapter §2.6 ARTICLE I, SECTION 7: OATHS AND AFFIRMATIONS

• Jurisdiction: Oregon

§2.6 ARTICLE I, SECTION 7: OATHS AND AFFIRMATIONS

Article I, section 7, of the Oregon Constitution provides: "The mode of administering an oath, or affirmation shall be such as may be most consistent with, and binding upon the conscience of the person to whom such oath or affirmation may be administered."

No reported appellate decision involves this section, perhaps because the kinds of oaths required of office holders, witnesses, jurors, and other Oregonians whose roles require the taking of an oath either contain no religious references at all or provide a nonreligious option. Examples of the former include the oaths to be taken by members of the legislature (Or Const, Art IV, § 31), supreme court justices (Or Const Art VII (Amended), § 7), attorneys (ORS 9.250(2)), and...