No person shall be deemed incompetent to testify as a witness on account of his opinion in relation to the Supreme Being or a future state of rewards and punishments; nor shall any witness be questioned in regard to his religious opinions.
Source: L. 1872: p. 95, § 1. G.L. omitted. G.S. § 3646. R.S. 08: § 7272. C.L. § 6561. CSA: C. 177, § 7. CRS 53: § 153-1-10. C.R.S. 1963: § 154-1-10.
ANNOTATION
Law reviews. For article, "Dying Declarations", see 16 Dicta 379 (1939). For article, "Fearing Hell as Essential to Validity of Affidavit", see 18 Dicta 144 (1941). For note, "Impeachment of Non-Religious Witnesses", see 13 Rocky Mt. L. Rev. 336 (1941). For article, "The Right to Practice Law as Dependent on Fear of Hell", see 19 Dicta 206 (1942).
When evidence of religious beliefs admissible. This section was not violated in felony child abuse case where defendant raised religious healing as an affirmative defense and was cross-examined as to his religious beliefs. The examination was probative of something other than the veracity of such witness and the court properly instructed the jury to consider testimony only for limited purposes. People v. Lybarger, 790 P.2d 855 (Colo. App. 1989), rev'd on other grounds, 807 P.2d 570 (Colo. 1991).
This section and CRE 610 do not apply to statements made by a prosecutor in closing argument. A prosecutor is not a witness, and his or her statements made in closing argument are not evidence. People v. Krutsinger, 121 P.3d 318 (Colo. App. 2005).