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Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes

42 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 5902 (2026)

 Effect of religious beliefs.

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§ 5902.  Effect of religious beliefs.

(a)  Religious opinions not to disqualify.--The capacity of any person to testify in any judicial proceeding shall not be affected by his opinions on matters of religion.

(b)  Religious belief may not be shown.--No witness shall be questioned, in any judicial proceeding, concerning his religious belief; nor shall any evidence be heard upon the subject, for the purpose of affecting either his competency or credibility.

(c)  Definitions.--As used in this section the following words and phrases shall have the meanings given to them in this subsection:

"Judicial proceedings."  Includes all matters of whatever nature, relating to practice in or authorized by any tribunal whether of record or not of record, within this Commonwealth.

"Witness."  Includes every person who shall make statements, either oral or written, in any judicial proceeding.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 10 cases, 1982–2019 · leading case: Commonwealth v. Reid, 642 A.2d 453 (Pa. 1994).
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Commonwealth v. Reid, 642 A.2d 453 (Pa. 1994). · cites it 4× “In reaching its decision the trial court relied upon 42 Pa.C.S. § 5902(b) which provides, "No witness shall be questioned, in any judicial proceeding, concerning his religious belief; nor shall any evidence be heard upon the subject, for the purpose of affecting either his…”
Jacobs v. Chatwani, 922 A.2d 950 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2007). · cites it 2× “" 42 Pa.C.S. § 5902(b). See also Pa.R.E. 610 ("Evidence of the beliefs or opinions of a witness on matters of religion is not admissible for the purpose of showing that by reason of their nature the witness' credibility is impaired or enhanced.”
Commonwealth v. Myer, 489 A.2d 900 (Pa. 1985). · cites it 2× “Appellant bases his claim of error on 42 Pa.C.S. § 5902(b), which provides: (b) Religious belief may not be shown.”
Commonwealth v. Fawcett, 443 A.2d 1172 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1982). “53, § 2(a)(923), 42 Pa.C.S. § 5902(b), which contains language identical to the former statute.”
Jackson v. Indiana Univ. of Pennsylvania, 695 A.2d 980 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 1997). “Accordingly, the unsworn testimony relied upon by the Judicial Board, and the Director of Housing and Residence Life in upholding the Judicial Board’s decision, was inherently unreliable resulting in a violation of the due process guarantees mandated by the board’s regulations.”
Commonwealth v. Murphy, 718 N.E.2d 395 (Mass. App. Ct. 1999). “” The Pennsylvania statute reads: “No witness shall be questioned, in any judicial proceeding, concerning his religious belief; nor shall any evidence be heard upon the subject, for the purpose of affecting either his competency or credibility.”
Somerton Civic Ass'n v. Zoning Bd. of Adjustment, 503 A.2d 500 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 1986). “42 Pa. C. S. §5902. A tribunal includes a government unit when performing quasi-judicial functions.”
Com. v. Harrison, P., No. 2659 EDA 2016 (Pa. Super. Ct. May 30, 2018). · cites it 2× “According to Appellant, this is banned explicitly by 42 Pa.C.S. § 5902(b) and the relevant case law.”
Com. v. Lawrence, B., No. 1347 EDA 2018 (Pa. Super. Ct. Jan. 2, 2019). “-5- J-S74002-18 42 Pa.C.S. § 5902. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has stated that there is no per se rule requiring a finding of reversible error if there is a violation of the statute.”
Com. v. Price, M., No. 936 EDA 2013 (Pa. Super. Ct. Nov. 24, 2014). “” 42 Pa.C.S. § 5902(b) (emphases added). In the case sub judice, the prosecutor did not question any witness about his religious beliefs.”
42 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 5902(b): 7 cases
Commonwealth v. Reid, 642 A.2d 453 (Pa. 1994). “In reaching its decision the trial court relied upon 42 Pa.C.S. § 5902(b) which provides, "No witness shall be questioned, in any judicial proceeding, concerning his religious belief; nor shall any evidence be heard upon the subject, for the purpose of affecting either his…”
Jacobs v. Chatwani, 922 A.2d 950 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2007). “" 42 Pa.C.S. § 5902(b). See also Pa.R.E. 610 ("Evidence of the beliefs or opinions of a witness on matters of religion is not admissible for the purpose of showing that by reason of their nature the witness' credibility is impaired or enhanced.”
Commonwealth v. Myer, 489 A.2d 900 (Pa. 1985). “Appellant bases his claim of error on 42 Pa.C.S. § 5902(b), which provides: (b) Religious belief may not be shown.”
Commonwealth v. Fawcett, 443 A.2d 1172 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1982). “53, § 2(a)(923), 42 Pa.C.S. § 5902(b), which contains language identical to the former statute.”
Commonwealth v. Murphy, 718 N.E.2d 395 (Mass. App. Ct. 1999). “” The Pennsylvania statute reads: “No witness shall be questioned, in any judicial proceeding, concerning his religious belief; nor shall any evidence be heard upon the subject, for the purpose of affecting either his competency or credibility.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.