By now everyone knows that Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died on Friday, September 18th, at age 87. For several years she battled cancer, so her passing was not unexpected. Consequently, her decease now sets up what promises to be another knock-down drag-out fight in the United States Senate to confirm her successor. Conservatives (i.e.: most Republicans) want President Trump to go ahead and nominate someone before the election in November. This is so he or she (probably she) can be confirmed by the mostly Republican Senate before the new Senate term begins in January 2021. Liberals (i.e.: most Democrats) object saying it should be the prerogative of the winner of the November Presidential election to make the nomination and the new Senate whether or not to confirm her.
I won’t address that situation here, but I have a feeling that no matter how it goes there is going to be another battle-royal in the Senate Judiciary Committee hearings and on the Senate floor. If you think the kerfuffle over Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination by President Donald Trump in 2018 was bad, just wait until you see what will happen if Trump makes the nomination before or after the election. Whoever he or she may be, his or her private life will be exposed to the public in ways most people would never dream of facing (whether true or false).
In any case, the purpose of this blog is simply to bring to light one unusual fact about the make-up of the current Supreme Court. It is remarkable that five of the eight sitting justices are members of the Roman Catholic Church. These include Chief Justice John Roberts, along with associates Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Sonia Sotomayor, and Brett Kavanaugh. Justice Neil Gorsuch was raised Catholic but was married in an Anglican Church in England. He now, reportedly, attends an Episcopalian congregation in Washington. The other two Justices, Stephen Breyer and Elena Kagan, are Jewish. I was unable to determine in which branch of Judaism, (Orthodox, Conservative, or Reform) each of them is affiliated.
The odd thing is, none of the Justices were raised in historically Protestant churches. Furthermore, none is a member of a historically evangelical church or denomination. Now this is not necessarily a problem for me. I am more concerned for the legal and moral philosophies of the Justices than merely their religious affiliation. Frankly, for someone to be a mainline Protestant in today’s world may not necessarily testify positively to their moral perspective. Unfortunately, some of the mainline denominations have officially taken decidedly unbiblical positions on key moral issues. And, likewise, many Roman Catholics completely ignore the teachings of their church on key moral issues.
All that being said, we hope that President Trump, or whoever the next President may be, will look carefully, not only at the legal and educational credentials of any prospective candidates for the Supreme Court, but will also consider their spiritual and moral background. With about 25% of the American population identifying as evangelical, it may be high time for a qualified conservative evangelical to be placed in nomination.
In any case, it is something Christians need to pray about. It is also something to take into important consideration when deciding for whom you will vote for President. The 2021 makeup of the US Supreme Court will determine, for good or bad, the legal and moral course of this country for the rest of this century.