The constitution of the state of Maryland includes a series of provisions (Declaration of Rights, Articles 36, 37 and 39) proclaiming “the duty of every man to worship God”; stating that a witness or juror may not be disqualified on religious grounds “provided he believes in the existence of God” and a state of eventual rewards and punishments; and stating that no religious test shall ever be imposed for office “other than a declaration of belief in the existence of God.”

These provisions are worse than anachronistic. They prescribe a duty that is inconsistent with respecting the equal liberty of religious nonbelievers. They gesture at excluding from the civic compact the very large numbers of Marylanders who would not of their own free will make the attestations in question. Beyond all this, they are already inoperative and invalid, since they conflict with the U.S. Constitution and its principles of religious liberty as long interpreted by the U.S. Supreme Court. No Maryland court may enforce them.

Del. Terri Hill (D‑Howard, Baltimore Counties) introduced a bill, H.B. 181, that would strike the relevant clauses and replace them with modernized language that would respect the full and free range of religious belief, including unbelief. Unfortunately, it appears the bill is being withdrawn, to judge from the posts of triumphant opponents. But Del. Hill is on the right track. One may hope that in future years she re-introduces similar legislation and that the Maryland General Assembly chooses to correct this shortcoming in its constitution’s protection of liberty.