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FACT BRIEF

Are atheists prohibited from holding office in eight US states?

By Kaiyah Clarke
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NO

A recent social media post claims atheists cannot hold office in eight U.S. states.

The post leaves out important context. Constitutional clauses in each of the eight states do bar atheists from holding office. However, they have been unenforceable for more than 60 years.

According to a spokesperson for the Freedom From Religion Foundation, a 1961 U.S. Supreme Court case ruling "makes all the state bans on atheists holding office unconstitutional and unenforceable." 

A University at Buffalo School of Law professor also told Lead Stories that such a ban would violate the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment because "freedom of religion under that provision includes the freedom to have no religion."

See a full discussion of this at Lead Stories
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
Freedom From Religion Foundation Religious Tests for Public Office
Washington Post There are states where you technically can’t hold public office if you’re an atheist
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR
Lead Stories
Lead Stories is a fact checking and debunking website at the intersection of big data and journalism that launched in 2015. It scouts for trending stories, images, videos and posts that contain false information in order to fact check them as quickly as possible. It actively monitors the fake-news ecosystem and doesn’t wait for reader tips or reports before getting started on a story.
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About fact briefs published on Gigafact
Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.