Pluralism, Texts, and Oaths

[Swaminathan Madhuresan]

Many Tamils take oath with Tirukkural in courts, swearing in
ceremonies, weddings. For a good translation,
K. R. Srinivasa Iyengar, Tirukkural, an English verse rendering,
M. P. Birla Foundation, 1988.

P.S.Sundaram, The Kural, Penguin is easily available.

--- Noel Salmond <nsalmond at CCS.CARLETON.CA> wrote:
> Dear Colleagues
>
> I recently got a call from an official of the government of Canada asking
> for information with regard to choosing sacred texts for use in swearing-in
> ceremonies for new Canadians. In Canada you have the choice to either be
> sworn on a holy book or not. For those who do so wish they provide Bibles
> but have been concerned in the last decade or so to be a bit more inclusive
> -- hence the Gita is available for Hindus, the Qur'an for Muslims and so
> on. They also invite anyone to bring their own holy book, if they want one.
> The official wanted help concerning what other books they should provide.
> For instance, they want to know what to provide for Buddhists. I'm aware of
> how complex this can be: what kind of Buddhist? Buddhism isn't a "religion
> of the book" in the way that the biblical traditions are etc.
>
> Could someone put me on to any literature that may be out there on the use
> of sacred texts for legal and oath taking purposes.
> With all the work being done on comparative notions of scripture and on
> pluralism I would imagine that this topic has been addressed.
>
> Could someone tell me what the drill is in the U.S., in the U.K., in India.
> I gather that in secular India one swears on a copy of the constitution.
>
> With thanks
>
> Noel Salmond
> Carleton University
> Ottawa, Canada                               [apologies to those who saw
> this cross-posted to RISA-L]
>
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