On the December 13 broadcast of his nationally syndicated radio show, when a caller raised the topic of swearing in witnesses with a Bible, Fox News' Bill O'Reilly argued that historically, “if you swore on the Bible [before testifying in court] ... you would tell the truth” because “the Bible was considered a symbol that ... you didn't mess with.” Continuing, O'Reilly argued that since “they've done away with” swearing on the Bible before one goes under oath, "[n]ow people perjure themselves all day, every day. O'Reilly then blamed, “secular progressives [that are] knocking out any spirituality” for the lack of a mandated religious oath before testifying in court.
O'Reilly failed to offer any support for his contention that incidents of perjury are on the rise.
CALLER: Long-time listener, Bill. I love your show.
O'REILLY: Thank you.
CALLER: Look, we're talking about separation of church and state. But what about, you know, when you're in court, you have to put your hand on the Holy Bible to be sworn in. You know --
O'REILLY: Not anymore.
CALLER: Not anymore?
O'REILLY: No.
CALLER: What about when the president's inaugurated into office?
O'REILLY: Well, he does. I mean you can choose to, but you don't have to, and some places have knocked it out entirely. But, look, the point of the matter is that it was there for about 100 and -- almost 200 years -- where you would go into court, and you would swear on a Bible to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. And the Bible was considered a symbol that you didn't screw with, that you didn't mess with.
That if you swore on the Bible that you would tell the truth. That, of course, has gone away. Now, people perjure themselves all day, every day. We all know that. So, the Bible is a symbolic courtroom necessity, I think, but they've done away with it in many, many places.
Again: secular progressives knocking out any spirituality. They don't want it.
