The L.A. Times recently posed this question noting that with justice John Paul Stevens’ resignation, the court will be absent Protestant representation. (Of the eight remaining justices, two are Jewish and six are Catholic.) Certainly, with half of the country Protestant-identified, it makes sense on some ideological level to achieve representation on the court…
Wait, did I just say that? No one needs reminding about the separation of church and state, right? Or do we?
In it’s report on the matter, the San Francisco Examiner noted that religious affiliation is often viewed as a litmus test of political orientation.
“Thus, it’s been argued that recent Republican presidents have favored naming Catholic justices, viewing them as reliably conservative votes on economic and social issues, particularly opposition to reproductive choice and pro-family issues.”
The question becomes how does one’s religion affect the process of interpretation. Many of you may be thinking I’ve jumped the gun on this one–that this discussion is problematic for even assuming religion plays a role. I regret to inform you, dear reader, that we are not free from bias, regardless what religion we ascribe to. (You know, come to think of it, this would actually be a lot more interesting if an atheist was nominated!)
Read the articles (they’re both short), then let me know what you think.
Bonus! Below is a breakdown of religious affiliation by population percentage. Notice that the following have had zero representation: Pentecostals (2.1%), Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints/Mormons (2%), Muslims (1.5%), GLBT (1.5%), Buddhists (0.5% to 0.8%), Jehovah’s Witnesses (0.6%), Mennonites (0.6%), Eastern Orthodox (approx. 0.5%).
| Affiliation | # of Justices |
% of Justices |
% of U.S. population, 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Episcopalian | 35 | 32.4% | 1.7% |
| Presbyterian | 19 | 17.6% | 2.8% |
| Catholic | 11 | 10.2% | 24.5% |
| Unitarian | 10 | 9.3% | 0.2% |
| Jewish | 7 | 6.4% | 1.5% |
| Methodist | 5 | 4.6% | 8.0% |
| Baptist | 3 | 2.7% | 18.0% |
| Congregationalist | 2 | 1.9% | 0.6% |
| Disciples of Christ | 2 | 1.9% | 0.3% |
| Lutheran | 1 | 0.9% | 5.2% |
| Quaker | 1 | 0.9% | 0.1% |
| Huguenot | 1 | 0.9% | |
| “Protestant” not further defined | 13 | 12.0% | * 9.7% |
| Not a member of any church | 1 | 0.9% | |
| Total | 108 | 100.0% | 74.4% |
*Graph updated 2006.
Love,
Natanya
