WASHINGTON (AP) — Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will take their oaths of office on Wednesday using Bibles that are laden with personal meaning, writing new chapters in a long-running American tradition — and one that appears nowhere in the law.
The Constitution does not require the use of a specific text for swearing-in ceremonies and specifies only the wording of the president’s oath. That wording does not include the phrase “so help me God,” but every modern president has appended it to their oaths and most have chosen symbolically significant Bibles for their inaugurations.
Read the full article here: https://wordandway.org/2021/01/19/bidens-bible-puts-him-in-line-with-inaugural-tradition/
In this Jan. 20, 2013 photo, Vice President Joe Biden (left) places his hand on the Biden family Bible held by his wife, Jill Biden (center), as he takes the oath of office from Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor (right) during an official ceremony at the Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C. (Carolyn Kaster/Associated Press)