Ceremonial Morality: What a History of Oath-Taking Reveals about Practices of Living in a Good Way
A dominant strand of Christian theology has defined morality as biblically-rooted in Mosaic law, distinguishing it from “ceremonial” and “civic or judicial” laws also found in the Hebrew Bible. This theological view has had significant effects on definitions and policing of religion and ceremony in British colonial jurisdictions including North America and India. In this paper, I conjoin the ceremonial and the moral with a specific focus on the lasting practice of oath-making in colonial secular jurisdictions. Informed by the work of scholars of religion and law such as Robert Yelle and scholars of law and Indigenous studies such as John Borrows, I consider oaths of citizenship and oaths of office as sites at which “secular” politics and “religious” commitments commingle in the performance of ceremonial morality.