Was the phrase ‘So help me God’ part of Obama’s oath?

The great circus known as the presidential inauguration, Obamastock, has passed, and it is now time to analyze the details, speeches, oaths, behaviors of former presidents, etc. However, one interesting thing happened during the oath itself, specifically at its conclusion.

The phrase ‘So help me God’, a controversial element of the supposedly secular state that places the inscription ‘In God We Trust’ in courtrooms and on banknotes, led to a strange moment yesterday. Namely, at the end of the oath sentence, Chief Justice John Roberts did not recite the controversial oath but instead asked Obama, ‘So help me God?’, to which he confirmed that he hopes for divine assistance. The phrase in question is not part of the official oath but was added voluntarily by the first president of the United States, George Washington, which has turned into an unofficial tradition. However, not all presidents have embraced it wholeheartedly; for instance, Teddy Roosevelt refused to call on God for help and chose to affirm the oath with the words ‘I so affirm’, which Franklin Pierce and Herbert Hoover, a Quaker, reportedly did as well.

In America, there are opinions that this statement should be removed from the oath, considering that in a country of 300 million people mixed from all possible nationalities and faiths, there are likely those who do not believe in the mentioned God. The president, however, is a person who represents all of them, not just himself or those of his faith, so the disputes over this statement are not surprising. Obama himself is a declared believer of the Protestant faith, predominant among American presidents, but he has acknowledged that religion did not play a significant role in his home. The Chief Justice’s choice not to recite the phrase as part of the oath, but rather as a question or reminder, makes it all the more interesting. In any case, all available assistance will certainly be needed in America in the coming months, regardless of which God or higher power is in question. (V. F.)