§ 40.365 Rule 610. Religious beliefs or opinions

Here's a plain English summary:

A witness's religious beliefs cannot be used in court to argue that they are more or less trustworthy. Lawyers cannot bring up what a witness believes about religion just to convince the jury that the person is more honest or less honest because of those beliefs.

This rule keeps religion out of the question of whether someone is telling the truth. A person's faith, or lack of faith, does not say anything about whether they are a reliable witness. Courts want jurors to judge honesty based on things like the witness's actions, statements, and behavior, not their personal religious views.

That said, this rule does not block every mention of religion in a trial. If someone's religious beliefs are actually relevant to the facts of the case, like in a dispute involving a church or a religious practice, that evidence can still come in. The rule only stops people from using religion as a shortcut to attack or boost a witness's credibility.