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Last Protestant Supreme Court Justice Resigns

NirvanaNirvana aka BUBBA   `     `  South Carolina, USA Veteran
edited May 2010 in Buddhism Today
Last Protestant Christian Supreme Court Justice Resigns

Justice John Paul Stevens will step down in June. A life-long Republican, appointed by President Ford in 1975, his was a more liberal voice on the High Court. He was the sole remaining Protestant Christian on the Court after Justice David Souter, an Episcopalian, resigned last June.

Now, the highest court of the land of this historically vehemently Protestant nation will be without a member of this group unless President Obama nominates another Protestant. Does anyone else find this fact even a bit interesting?

Two of the other eight are Jewish, Stephen Breyer and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, but the remaining six are Roman Catholic:

Chief Justice Roberts
Kennedy
Scalia
Thomas
Alito
Sotomayor

Comments

  • edited April 2010
    Nirvana wrote: »
    Last Protestant Christian Supreme Court Justice Resigns

    Justice John Paul Stevens will step down in June. A life-long Republican, appointed by President Ford in 1975, his was a more liberal voice on the High Court. He was the sole remaining Protestant Christian on the Court after Justice David Souter, an Episcopalian, resigned last June.

    Now, the highest court of the land of this historically vehemently Protestant nation will be without a member of this group unless President Obama nominates another Protestant. Does anyone else find this fact even a bit interesting?

    A bit interesting, but not of much importance. After all, Catholicism is no guarantee of a certain ideology. Judging by the 08 election, I'd say Catholics split about 50/50 between Republican and Democrat in the general public.

    Personally, I find the individual justices' interpretations of the Constitution much more interesting. If the court had 9 black lesbian Jews who were strict constructionists, I would be quite happy! :lol:
  • NirvanaNirvana aka BUBBA   `     `   South Carolina, USA Veteran
    edited April 2010
    Hey, KoB, it's been a long time since you and I interacted! Great to "see you again," esteemed Sir!

    I wasn't thinking of any linkages between denominational identification and ideology or anything else, for that matter. I'm just interested in the demographic facts.

    Demographics just happen to interest me. Another fact that I find of great interest is that this country has never elected a Lutheran president, despite their great number and German nearly having become the official language once or twice in our history. Most presidents have historically been either Episcopalian or Presbyterian. Indeed as few Episcopalians and Quakers as we have in this country per capita, we have even had two Quaker presidents (Hoover and Nixon).

    I'll betcha members of the Ku Klux Klan are rolling over in their graves with the Supreme Court potentially being comprised solely of Catholics and Jews. :D

    Interesting things like this amaze me and make me laugh.

    Is that OK?

    Be Well, KoB!
  • edited April 2010
    i want to see some pagans on the supreme court
  • PalzangPalzang Veteran
    edited April 2010
    How about putting a nice Buddhist judge on the court? Not that any Buddhist would want to engage in such a foul business.

    Palzang
  • NirvanaNirvana aka BUBBA   `     `   South Carolina, USA Veteran
    edited April 2010
    Foul Indeed, Palzang-La! It seems that the court is headed back towards the mentality of decisions such as Plessy v. Ferguson. First there was Bush v. Gore and now this fiasco giving corporations rights as if they were people. What's next?

    John Paul Stevens will truly be missed. He's the last remaining veteran on the court, having enlisted the day before Pearl Harbor, on Dec. 6, 1941. His offerings included an uncanny ability to get the ears of more conservative justices on key issues and influencing the court to make more reasoned, objective decisions.

    I'm afraid that a bunch of self-serving demagogues in the opposition will do their utmost to use the president's nomination as a focal-point for negative political propaganda. I just hope that the president will not let this probability affect his choice. It seems to me that they'll damn him either way, so he might just as well do the right thing and follow the dicates of his own conscience and understanding. Those that are declaring that if Obama's not the Antichrist he's his forerunner wouldn't be happy if he chose Oren Hatch, anyway.
  • Love-N-PeaceLove-N-Peace Veteran
    edited April 2010
    As long as they do a good, open-minded job I don't care whether they be a Christian man, or 9 black lesbian Jews, as somebody put it... Although idealy a mixture.
  • PalzangPalzang Veteran
    edited April 2010
    Uh, what do you care, Joe? You live across the pond! Are you planning on immigrating?

    Palzang
  • bushinokibushinoki Veteran
    edited May 2010
    That does intrigue me a little bit. I'm a little worried about too many seats coming open while we have a Liberal sitting in office though. The midterm Congressional races look promising for bringing our legislature back to the center though. Would help if the Pres. had to work with a centrist senate to appoint new judges.
  • edited May 2010
    I guess I'm not sure why it matters what this person's religion is. The point of the Supreme Court is to be the ultimate arbiter, but of the law... not of any religion or religious view. What I do find to be interesting is what else is mentioned; that every last one of the rest of them are either Jewish or Catholic. Doesn't this seem strange, as if we've never truly divorced religion from government? And all of Abrahamic religions (excluding Islam) too... wow.

    I get chills. ;) It makes you wonder.
  • Love-N-PeaceLove-N-Peace Veteran
    edited May 2010
    As I said I don't care. Right now I'm half-listening to the news about everyone voting. Britain woke up to a hung parliament and I think conservatives are winning but it's all a bit confusing. In the electronic voting map on the news no particular colour stood out and lots of people couldn't vote because on cues no it's still all quite confudling...

    All the best,
    Jellybean
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