In Italy, "abuse of popular credulity" is a crime. A case has been brought against a Catholic priest for claiming that Jesus Christ was an actual person, and the judge has ordered the priest to appear in court to prove his claim.
I don't know how courts work in Italy, but in the US, witnesses are asked to swear on the Bible. Doesn't doing so assume that the text within is factual? I don't think they let you bring in your own books to swear upon.
The state is that great fiction by which everyone tries to live at the expense of everyone else. - Frederic Bastiat