In seven U.S. states, according to their constitutions, atheists are barred from holding public office, and in some case from testifying as witnesses in court. These are: Arkansas, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas.
In Arkansas, for example, Article 19, Section 1 of the constitution states:
"No person who denies the being of a God shall hold any office in the civil departments of this State, nor be competent to testify as a witness in any Court.
Similarly, in Mississippi, Article 14, Section 265 of the constitution states:
"No person who denies the existence of a Supreme Being shall hold any office in this state."
It is not stated specifically which God or Supreme being is to be denied, an ambiguity which could suffice as a loophole, if the recent case of Lindsay Miller is anything to go by. Ms Miller was finally granted the right by the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles to wear a spaghetti strainer in her driver's license photo, in allegiance to the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, of which she is a member.
