'So help me God' isn't in official presidential oath
Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. administers the oath of office to President Barack H. Obama, with his hand on the Lincoln bible, during the presidential inauguration ceremony in Washington, DC on Jan. 20, 2009. RNS photo by Noah K. Murray/The Star-Ledger
(RNS) When President Obama rests his hand on two historic Bibles to take his second-term oath of office Monday, he'll add a phrase not mentioned in the Constitution: "So help me God." But the Almighty's role on the Capitol steps is a controversial one. By Cathy Lynn Grossman.
