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Can someone please tell me the difference between the two phrases:

I will swear the Oath of Allegiance

I will affirm the Oath of Alliegiance


My husband has received his invitation for his Citizenship Ceremony and we have to fill out this form and return.
We are Muslims and my husband's nationality was Pakistani and now will be taking on British after this ceremony (already approved by HomeOffice).

Can someone please tell me which phrase he needs to tick???

Many thanks.

Your choice.

Affirm - with no religious references.
Oath - with religious reference (God).

You are free to take any religious text or book to the ceremony if you wish.

Wording of the oath:

"I, [name], swear by Almighty God that, on becoming a British
citizen, I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her
Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, Her Heirs and Successors
according to law."

Wording of the affirmation:

I, [name], do solemnly, sincerely and truly declare and
affirm that on becoming a British citizen, I will be faithful and
bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second,
Her Heirs and Successors, according to law.

There were only 12 people at my ceremony and it was an exact 50/50 split with half taking the oath and half taking the affirmation.

Affirmation in law wrote:In law, an affirmation is a solemn declaration allowed to those who conscientiously object to taking an oath. An affirmation has exactly the same legal effect as an oath but is usually taken to avoid the religious implications of an oath; it is thus legally binding but not considered a religious oath. Some religious minorities hold beliefs that allow them to make legally binding promises but forbid them to swear an oath before God.

Till the mid-19th century, the only way to swear allegiance, at such events as naturalisation, being elected to Parliament, etc, was to swear an Oath. And the Oath was often worded in such a way as to exclude members of all faiths other than the Church of England. Thus, for instance, the Oath at the time included words such as "upon the true faith of a Christian", which effectively barred anybody who was a non-Christian from being an MP, for instance. A special exemption, and the start of having a non-religious affirmation, was in place for Quakers since the Glorious Revolution.

After a campaign to change the wording of the Oath, Lionel De Rothschild became the first practising Jew to become an MP.

But that still left atheists and people who felt that their faith did not allow them to speak God's name out of Parliament. Charles Bradlaugh campaigned to be allowed to affirm rather than take the Oath when taking his seat as an MP in Parliament. The Oaths Act 1888 finally allowed affirmation in almost all circumstances that required an Oath.

Also, see this thread about a member's observation on citizenship ceremonies.