A Critical Analysis of The Christian Influence on the Supreme Court's Decisions...
The United States Supreme Court is the highest judicial authority in the nation, and its decisions have a profound impact on the lives of millions of Americans. But how impartial and fair is the court when it comes to cases involving religion? Does the court favor Christianity over other faiths or secular values?
Some observers have argued that the court has become increasingly biased in favor of religion, especially Christianity, in recent years. A study published in The Supreme Court Review documented a 35-percentage-point increase in the rate of rulings in favor of religion in orally argued cases, culminating in an 81 percent success rate for religious litigants in the 2019-2020 term. The study also found that conservative justices were more likely to vote for religion than liberal ones, and that Christian groups were more likely to win than non-Christian ones.
One possible explanation for this trend is the changing composition of the court. Since 2017, three conservative justices have been appointed by former President Donald Trump, who enjoyed strong support from evangelical Christians. The current court has six Catholic and three Jewish justices, but no Protestants, who make up the largest religious group in the country. Some critics have suggested that the court's religious makeup does not reflect the diversity of American society, and that some justices may be influenced by their personal faith or ideology.
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest judicial authority in the country and has the power to interpret and apply the Constitution to various cases and controversies. The Court's decisions have a profound impact on the lives of millions of Americans and shape the legal and political landscape of the nation. However, the Court is not immune to external influences and biases, especially those related to religion. In this blog post, I will critically analyze how the Christian faith of some of the justices and the broader Christian culture in America have influenced some of the Court's most controversial and consequential decisions.
One of the most obvious examples of Christian influence on the Supreme Court is the issue of abortion. The landmark case of Roe v. Wade (1973) established a constitutional right to privacy that encompassed a woman's decision to terminate her pregnancy. This decision was met with fierce opposition from many Christian groups and individuals who viewed abortion as a violation of God's will and a form of murder. Since then, several cases have challenged Roe v. Wade and attempted to limit or overturn it, such as Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992), Gonzales v. Carhart (2007), and Whole Woman's Health v. Hellerstedt (2016). In these cases, some of the justices who dissented or concurred in part expressed their personal or religious views on abortion, such as Justice Scalia, who wrote that "the Constitution does not compel or even permit this Court to impose a moral code that contradicts what many Americans believe to be sacred truths" (Gonzales v. Carhart, 2007).
Another example of Christian influence on the Supreme Court is the issue of same-sex marriage. The landmark case of Obergefell v. Hodges (2015) established a constitutional right to same-sex marriage and invalidated state laws that banned or refused to recognize such marriages. This decision was also met with fierce opposition from many Christian groups and individuals who viewed same-sex marriage as a violation of God's design for marriage and a threat to religious liberty. In this case, some of the justices who dissented expressed their personal or religious views on marriage, such as Chief Justice Roberts, who wrote that "the majority's decision is an act of will, not legal judgment" and that "the Court invalidates the marriage laws of more than half the States and orders the transformation of a social institution that has formed the basis of human society for millennia" (Obergefell v. Hodges, 2015).
These are just two examples of how Christian influence on the Supreme Court has affected some of its most important decisions. There are many other examples that could be discussed, such as prayer in public schools, religious displays on public property, capital punishment, and health care. The point is not to suggest that Christian influence on the Supreme Court is necessarily good or bad, but rather to acknowledge that it exists and to examine its implications for law and society. As citizens and scholars, we should be aware of how religion shapes our legal system and our values, and we should critically evaluate whether such influence is consistent with our constitutional principles and our democratic ideals.
The court has discretion to choose which cases it hears, and it may be more likely to grant review to cases that raise important or novel questions of law or constitutional interpretation. Some of these cases may involve conflicts between religious liberty and other rights or interests, such as anti-discrimination laws, health care mandates, public funding, or access to public spaces. In these cases, the court may have to balance competing values and principles, and may give more weight to religious claims than secular ones.
It is clear that the court's decisions on religion have significant implications for American society and politics, and that they deserve close attention and scrutiny from the public and the media.
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