Source: Detroit Free Press
Wire Service: AP
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007705250439
RALEIGH, N.C. -- Witnesses and jurors being sworn in at state courthouses can take their oath using any religious text, not just the Bible, a judge ruled Thursday.
The ruling came after the American Civil Liberties Union argued that limiting that text to the Bible was unconstitutional because it favored Christianity.
The issue surfaced when Muslims tried to donate copies of the Quran to Guilford County's two courthouses. Two judges wouldn't accept the texts, saying that taking an oath on the Quran was illegal under state law.
State law allows witnesses preparing to testify in court to take their oath by laying a hand over the holy scriptures, by saying "so help me God" without the use of a religious book or by an affirmation using no religious symbols.