"So help me God." Those four words are at the center of a controversy brewing for an atheist airman who refuses to say them as part of his reenlistment oath, and thus has been denied the opportunity to remain in the Air Force after his term of service expires in November.
The airman is stationed at Creech Air Force Base in Nevada and is choosing to remain anonymous for fear of retribution.
The Military Times reports until Oct. 30, 2013, airmen could opt-out of saying the phrase "so help me God" when taking the enlistment oath:
The Air Force has not answered questions — first asked Sept. 4 — on the circumstances that led to the rule change, such as when the Air Force realized the opt-out clause violated statutory requirements, who brought this to the Air Force’s attention and when, and whether the statute ever allowed service members to opt out of saying “so help me God.”
And as an anonymous defense official pointed out to Stars and Stripes, the Air Force's enforcement of the religious part of its oath is a legal anomaly:
“I’ll tell you that there is no legal requirement to say ‘So help me God’ in any federal oath/affirmation by a person taking the oath. That is, saying ‘So help me God’ in any federal oath is optional at the discretion of the person taking the oath (not the person administering the oath).”
Yale University military legal scholar Eugene Fidell believes the U.S. Constitution is on the atheist airman's side, citing Article VI:
"[Federal officers] shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.”
Fidell said the phrase "so help me God" amounts to a religious test.
Air Force spokeswoman Rose Richeson told both Stars and Stripes and the Military Times that Air Force officials are awaiting a legal opinion from the Pentagon on whether or not the atheist airman could be allowed to opt-out of saying "so help me God" and reenlist.
