A solemn expression from a person giving evidence in court or making a sworn written statement. The traditional wording is I swear by Almighty God that the evidence which I shall give shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Alternatively, it is possible to affirm, that is to solemnly promise to tell the truth. Other traditional or religious practices are often recognized; for example a Chinese witness may break a plate to emphasize solemnity. The deliberate giving of false testimony under oath is called perjury.
An oath (from Old Saxon eoth) is either a promise or a statement of fact that calls upon something or someone that the oath maker considers sacred, usually a god, as a witness to the binding nature of the promise or the truth of the statement of fact.
A person taking an oath indicates this in a number of ways. The most usual is the explicit "I swear," but any statement or promise that includes "with {{Name}} as my witness" or "so help me {{Name}}," with {{Name}} being something or someone the oath-taker holds sacred, is an oath. Many people take an oath by holding in their hand or placing over their head a book of scripture or a sacred object, thus indicating the sacred witness through their action: such an oath is called corporal.
Pledges, Oaths, and Vows
The distinction between oaths and other statements or promises is blurred in casual usage. The current Olympic Oath, for instance, is really a pledge and not properly an oath since there is only a "promise" and no appeal to a sacred witness. according to the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica, "A vow is an oath, but an oath is only a vow if the divine being is the recipient of the promise and is not merely a witness."
Legal oaths and affirmations
In law, oaths are made by a witness to a court of law before giving testimony. The oath given to support an affidavit is frequently administered by a notary public who will memorialize the giving of the oath by affixing his or her seal to the document. New government officers such as judges and elected politicians are often required to swear oaths to serve their state or country as well.
Breaking an oath to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth is perjury.
Religious opposition
Various religious groups have objected to the taking of oaths, most notably the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) and the Mennonites. George Fox famously challenged a judge who had asked him to swear, saying that he would do so once the judge could point to any Bible passage where Jesus or his apostles took oaths. (The judge could not, but this did not allow Fox to escape punishment.)
Because of this new legal situation, a few Quakers now believe that there is no real difference between an oath and an affirmation, other than the word used.
Some Jews are also hesitant to take oaths, as making an unintentionally false oath would violate a Biblical commandment (Leviticus 19:12). In medieval Europe, Jews were required to swear the rather more severe Oath More Judaico in order for their testimony to be accepted.
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