Why do the ritors ask for Justice?

[Pat Mustard]

.... along with any oaths used in wtate ceremonies which explicitly reference a deity (eg so help me god).

Isn't there a provision for a secular oath? I mean, the default in my country is also religious, but if you claim to be a non believer, they make you swear without any god. Especially at court.

The establishment clause is as follows:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof...

To me that reads that any action by a government or governmental body which even indicates that a specific religious idea is privileged over others is prohibited under the constitution. Putting "one nation under god" in the pledge of allegiance or "so help me god" in the naturalisation oath is clearly privileging christianity over other forms of religion and irreligion (giving the idea that the state thinks christianity is true), and having to get dispensation to remove them (as with an affirmation when giving testimony in court) only reinforces this privelege. To be properly constituional in my mind, there should be no reference to god in any document supplied by or statement from or to a state body, unless those documents or statements deal directly with religion (eg a report on the effectiveness of religious organisations in education for example would have to discuss religion in some way).