Silverman v. Campbell
Silverman v. Campbell was a South Carolina Supreme Court case regarding the constitutionality of a provision in the South Carolina Constitution requiring an oath to God for employment in the public sector.
Details
In 1992, Herb Silverman was a mathematics professor at the College of Charleston who applied to become a notary public. Silverman had earlier run for the post of Governor of South Carolina. Silverman declared himself an Atheist but also joined a Unitarian Church. His application was rejected after he crossed off the phrase "So help me God" from the oath, which was required by the South Carolina State Constitution. Silverman filed a lawsuit naming Governor Carroll Campbell and Secretary of State Jim Miles as defendants. After a lower court made a ruling in favor of Silverman, the state appealed to the Supreme Court contending that the case was not about religion.The South Carolina Supreme Court, in a unanimous decision, ruled that Article VI, section 2 and Article XVII, section 4 of the South Carolina Constitution—both of which state, "No person who denies the existence of a Supreme Being shall hold any office under this Constitution"—could not be enforced because they violated the First Amendment protection of free exercise of religion and the Article VI, section 3 of the United States Constitution banning the use of a religious test for public office. Current precedent holds that these provisions are binding on the states under the Fourteenth Amendment.