Should Obama Appoint a Protestant to the Supreme Court?
Fifty-one percent of Americans identify themselves as Protestants, but only one member of the U.S. Supreme Court claims that religion: John Paul Stevens, the justice deemed likely to retire at the end of the term.
Catholic justices have been in the majority on the U.S. Supreme Court since 2006, the Washington Post reports. With the confirmation of Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the court now has six Catholics. Two other justices, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen G. Breyer, were raised in the Jewish faith, although Breyer was married in an Anglican ceremony and has a daughter who is an Episcopal priest.
The Post considers whether the religious make-up of the court should affect the next court appointment. “Here's the kind of question that might violate the rules you learned about proper dinner conversation: Does President Obama’s next Supreme Court nominee need to be a Protestant?” the Post asks....
