Nearly every elected official in Massachusetts, from the governor to members of town boards, recite the phase “so help me, God” when taking the oath of office.
But a proposal to amend the Massachusetts Constitution and eliminate the phrase has gained favor with a key committee in the Democrat-controlled Legislature.
Approved last week by the influential Joint Committee on the Judiciary, the bill calls for substituting a secular version, known as the Quaker oath, which states, “This I do under the pains and penalties of perjury.”
