To the editor:
Your editorial of June 26, "Public prayer: a lost cause?" is misleading in at least three particulars.You asked rhetorically, "What about the phrase `so help me, God' commonly uttered by people upon taking an oath of public office?"
In Utah, the oath for government officials does not contain a reference to God. The oath found in the Utah Constitution, Article IV, Section 10 cites: "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support, obey and defend the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of this state and that I will discharge the duties of my office with fidelity."
The U.S. Constitution, Article VI, as to the affirmation required of both state and federal officials does not set out a specific oath but recites that such officers "shall be bound by oath or affirmation to support this Constitution."
Thus, official oaths under the state and federal constitutions do not require reference to a deity, and Utah specifically excludes a reference to a deity.
With regard to your suggestion that "In God We Trust" might be removed from coinage, the U.S. Supreme Court has previously ruled that that phrase on filthy lucre does not violate the federal Constitution.
Finally, the U.S. Supreme Court has already ruled that under the federal Constitution state legislatures and Congress may open sessions with prayer.
Prayers before Congress, oaths of public office and our coinage are not implicated by the recent Supreme Court decision banning government-arranged prayers at public school graduations. The Supreme Court simply and consistently followed its longstanding ban on prayers in public schools.
Brian M. Barnard
Attorney at law
Salt Lake City