Today, the 44th president of the United States will solemnly swear to execute the duties of the highest office in the nation, “so help me God.”

But if the UW’s Secular Student Union (SSU) succeeds, future presidents will not utter those four final words of the inaugural oath.

In December 2008, Walker Adamson, an SSU officer, was approached by the American Humanist Association (AHA) and asked if the SSU would be interested in signing on as co-plaintiff in a civil action suit that seeks to remove the phrase “so help me God” from the oath.

“We found [the lawsuit] very well-intentioned and not frivolous,” Adamson said.

California attorney Michael Newdow, a prominent atheist who sought legal action against the phrase “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance in 2004, is leading 29 plaintiffs in the current lawsuit. The phrase under scrutiny is described as unconstitutional, violating the First Amendment, particularly the establishment clause, as well as the Fifth Amendment.

“We have no problem if Barack Obama adds it,” said SSU President Michael Amini. “It’s his speech.”

The controversy lies in U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, Jr. adding the phrase onto the end of the oath when he swears in the new president, a tradition that was established when Franklin D. Roosevelt took the oath of office in 1933.

“[The chief justice] embodies the Constitution. For him to add in a reference [to God] not in the Constitution stigmatizes a belief that the government endorses believing in a god,” Amini said, explaining why Roberts was being sued.

Also among the defendants are Rev. Rick Warren and Rev. Joseph Lowery, who plan to deliver an invocation and benediction at the inauguration. Amini mentioned that these speakers were hired by the government and that he felt uncomfortable about his federal tax dollars being used for a religious purpose.

“I don’t want the government telling me what I should or should not believe in,” Amini said.

Greg Di Loreto, director of the University Christian Fellowship, offered a different perspective on the issue.

“I get excited when I see someone else who professes a belief,” he said. “I think most people get excited when they see someone who shares that.”

Di Loreto also stated that he would not mind if prayer were absent from the ceremony.

“I don’t expect the government to have the same beliefs as the church,” Di Loreto said. “It’s nice when they do, but if the people decide they want to change that, I would be fine.”

If the lawsuit is unsuccessful, Adamson explained that the final outcome would be determined in an appeals court.

“This is not written in stone,” Adamson said. “It is simply a tradition that hasn’t been subjected to the kind of scrutiny it deserves.”

Newdow’s 2004 case was defeated in court, as was a 2005 plea for the removal of “In God We Trust” on U.S. currency.

“I don’t think [Newdow] will stop, nor do I think he should,” Amini said.

Players on both sides of the religious debate agreed that the case’s conclusion is largely dependent on future leadership.

“If I wanted to become president, it feels like there’s a religious test as administered by the chief justice,” Amini said. “What if the president was an atheist and the chief justice says, ‘so help me God?’ What is he or she supposed to say? ‘So help me no God?’”

Di Loreto echoed Amini’s statement.

“I don’t believe it should be a forced thing,” Di Loreto said. “If someone was elected president who didn’t believe [in God], they shouldn’t have to say that.”

Adamson cited a poll conducted by the Pew Forum on Religious and Public Life that found that “16 percent of Americans are not affiliated with any religion.”

One thing Obama said on the campaign trail made a lasting impression on both Amini and Adamson, who identify with that 16 percent.

“‘We are no longer just a Christian nation; we are also a Jewish nation, a Muslim nation, a Buddhist nation, a Hindu nation and a nation of nonbelievers,’” Amini said. “I believed him when he said that. It would make me very happy to see that reflected in the government.”

Reach contributing writer Rachel Solomon at development@dailyuw.com.