Would you be concerned if I told you there is an article in North Carolina’s Constitution that violates the 1st & 14th amendments of the United States Constitution and illegally discriminates against 18% of North Carolinians?
Article 6. Section 8. Disqualifications for Office
The following persons shall be disqualified for office:
First, any person who shall deny the being of Almighty God.
The above line in the North Carolina constitution has been illegal since 1961.
In the case of Torcaso v. Watkins in 1961, the United States Supreme Court ruled that a state cannot require a person who runs for or holds public office to state a belief in God as it violates the First and Fourteenth amendments.
This isn’t a political issue. It is a legal issue.
It is illegal for the NC Constitution to violate the 1st & 14th Amendments.
Eliminating discrimination and not wasting tax dollars are two issues all North Carolina citizens care about.
If a challenge came up in court, the State of North Carolina would waste taxpayer dollars defending itself as the United States Supreme Court has ruled this provision is unconstitutional. In 2009, H.K. Edgerton threatened to sue the City of Asheville over this very issue when they allowed his opponent, Cecil Bothwell, a post-theist, to take the oath of office after winning the 2009 election to serve on Asheville’s City Council.
North Carolina’s constitution stating that “any person who shall deny the being of Almighty God” is disqualified from running for office discriminates against 18% of North Carolina residents as 18% are secular or have no belief in any specific deity (SOURCE: PRRI/SSRS, American Values Atlas, 2014). That number goes up dramatically when you look at our next generation. Thirty-two percent of those 30 years old and under state they are nonreligious (SOURCE: Pew Research, People and Press, 2012), and that number is growing every year, up 4.3% from 2007 to 2012 (SOURCE: Aggr. Pew Research, People and Press, 2007-2012).
The ramifications of not removing this one line would reflect poorly on the state of North Carolina.
Only seven states, including North Carolina’s, have not updated their constitution to remove the illegal provision that blocks atheists, humanists, and other secular Americans from holding office.
Not eliminating this provision would send the message that North Carolina and its legislators think that illegal discrimination of its citizens is okay.
Are you willing to sponsor or vote in favor of a bill that would eliminate this antiquated, discriminatory and illegal provision in North Carolina’s constitution?
We appreciate your consideration of this issue and would love to have a discussion with you in person, over the phone or through email. Please contact Todd Stiefel at or 919-334-8330.
The mission of the Secular Coalition for North Carolina is to promote and support religiously neutral legislation in order to protect and strengthen the secular character of our government as the best guarantee of freedom for all.