BOSTON — A French-born woman who lives in Massachusetts has lost her appeal effort to have the phrase “so help me God” removed from the United States naturalization oath, as the First Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Friday that its inclusion is not unconstitutional.
“[W]e hold that, under the most recent framework used to evaluate whether established practices with religious content violate the Establishment Clause, the phrase ‘so help me God’ in the naturalization oath as a means of completing that oath does not violate the Constitution,” wrote Judge Juan Torruella, nominated to the bench by then-President Ronald Reagan, on behalf of the three-judge panel.
The court also noted that the woman can opt out of using the phrase, while not denying the right of others to speak it if desired.
“[T]he government has not prevented Perrier-Bilbo from expressing her atheistic religious beliefs. Nor can Perrier-Bilbo claim that the regulation prescribing the oath prohibits her from having a public ceremony during which she does not have to say the phrase ‘so help me God,’” Torruella outlined.
“Rather, the regulations enable her to alter the oath, and the government has given her alternatives to accommodate her beliefs so that she is comfortable during her ceremony and is able to naturalize.”
“Perrier-Bilbo’s actual complaint seems to be that the Government will not change the oath for everyone attending the public ceremony so that no one utters the words to which Perrier-Bilbo objects. Perrier-Bilbo certainly does not have a protected liberty interest in that,” he added.