isnt the state separate from religion?? if thats the case it makes no sense to swear on a bible, why not the torah??

Because most people are too scared to lie after they have sworn on the Bible...for fear of going to Hell (as there are lots of Christians). But...if you didn't believe in God...what would stop you from lying...nothing.

Surely it's circumstantial to your religious preference? If it's not then it should be. Christians swear on the bible, Muslims on the qu'ran, Scientologists on dianetics. Logically they shouldn't make people swear on something they don't recognise, it would be counter productive.

exactly, to someone like me, swearing on the bible is as meaningless as swearing on a copy of Harry Potter, to me both are fiction, so why should swearing on either make me more or less inclined to tell the truth?

Going to prison for perjury is also a good reason not to lie on the stand. And why does it have to be "If you don't believe in god", why not "If you're a muslim, or hindu, or buddhist?" Or any group that doesn't believe that the bible is holy?

It proved more effective back in the day when God was more accepted by society. Since then, he's been taken out of the schools, most of the justice system, and rejected by society. I guess to most people now, the Bible is just another book. I'm not picking on anybody, but that's how it seems to me.

Sad, but true

Because in America...they only make you swear on the Holy Bible....there is no point in mentioning any other religion...I could believe in Holy Turtles nesting Eggs for the Afterlife on an Island with 100 Models waiting for me...still doesn't change the fact they make you swear on the Holy Bible. I still think it's lame.

As Pacino said in Devil's Advocate..."Let me give you a little inside information about God. God likes to watch. He's a prankster. Think about it. He gives man instincts. He gives you this extraordinary gift, and then what does He do, I swear for His own amusement, his own private, cosmic gag reel, He sets the rules in opposition. It's the goof of all time. Look but don't touch. Touch, but don't taste. Taste, don't swallow. Ahaha. And while you're jumpin' from one foot to the next, what is he doing? He's laughin' His sick, fuckin' ass off! He's a tight-ass! He's a SADIST! He's an absentee landlord! Worship that? NEVER! "

Pretty much this.

It's true but not sad. God shouldn't be in schools, or in our justice system, or anywhere in our government. Because if he is then there is the argument of who's god do you put into the school system? Which god is the supreme court looking too? What if it's not your god? Would you want him in the schools, in the courts, in the government then? The fact of the matter is there are tens of millions of people who are not christians in america, so why should christ be in a government run school?

Christians want religious freedom, but many (not all) of them only mean "religious freedom for christians" when they say that. The instant the government espouses a certain religion, then that religious freedom is being taken from all those who worship differently. A secular government is the only way to have true religious freedom. So no, it's not sad that god has been taken out of the schools, and the justice system, it's in everyone's best interest that it is. And go look at some statistics, society in the US has not rejected god. Nearly half of the US thinks the earth is less than 10,000 years old, and even more than that think god created all life on earth pretty much as you see it now. The secularizing of government systems is in no way indicative of the US's view of god and the bible.