Why do they still ask you to put your hand on the bible when being sworn in? Do they honestly think people would then only tell the truth?

[SpaceGalaxy]

When being sworn in, the clerk holds a Bible for the witness is asked to swear or affirm his or her intent to tell the truth … etc. If the witness wants to put his or her hand on the Bible, that's up to them

[NamerOfStars]

Since it's rarely the sort of thing that catches a person by surprise, they'll usually arrange ahead of time for something else; Tulsi Gabbard, for instance, is a Hindu, and was sworn in on a copy of the Bhagavad Gita.

The Bible is actually just about the worst choice; not because of a lack of Christianity, but because of "Again you have heard that it was said to your ancestors, ‘Do not take a false oath, but make good to the Lord all that you vow.’ But I say to you, do not swear at all; not by heaven, for it is God’s throne; nor by the earth, for it is his footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Do not swear by your head, for you cannot make a single hair white or black. Let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No’ mean ‘No.’ Anything more is from the evil one." Matthew 5:33-37.

That's not buried in a back corner of an obscure prophetic book; that's straight from the mouth of Jesus Himself, during the Sermon on the Mount, one of the most famous parts of the most famous part (the Gospels) of the Bible; there's really no way to excuse ignorance of it except by admitting that you haven't actually READ the Bible; apparently I'm the only person in the country who actually has (which makes me seriously wonder what the hell is going on in the all the "Bible study" classes I keep hearing about; but that's another issue).

It's literally asking people to swear on a book that tells them not to swear on anything, ever. A person who would make such an oath is someone who, by definition, CANNOT be trusted to keep it, since if they took the book seriously, they wouldn't make the oath.

[normalice]

It doesn't have to be a Bible. You can opt out of that.

[purplepoppy]

There are other options. Recently in england a man swore an oath on a water sample from a river.

But lawyers recommend you choose a bible because it gives the jury a better impression of you.

[DrPepper12]

I asked to affirm instead of swear. It's your right to do so.

[NathanDavis]

I swear I don't know why