Last updated on November 17th, 2019
With the retirement of the Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy people are expressing hopes and fears. Complaints and concerns are expressed in the media, by politicians, and on the Internet. This includes some controversy as to whether or not or how soon the replacement justice would help overturn Roe v. Wade. Some politicians said they would vote against a nominee if they believed they would overturn that decision. One of the potential nominees was unfairly attacked for her faith by Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein decrying “dogma lives loudly in her” during her hearings on an appointment. This was an example of religious freedom judicial abuse. I recently read a book on the foundations of our country in regards to God and the Constitution. Also I read one describing the differences between modern conservatism and liberalism.
In God and the Constitution: Christianity and American Politics, author Paul Marshall analyzed several factors involved in how our society has changed in its views of religion, government, and justice and how they relate to one another. Our country vastly recognized the importance of encouraging religious practice and discouraging government interference for most of its history. Marshall pointed out:
One key change came in 1947 when Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black used Jefferson’s extra-constitutional metaphorical language of “the separation of church and state” as the key to the First Amendment.
Religious Freedom and Judicial Abuse and Assault
This decision began the significant assault on religious freedom by the judiciary that disregarded the original intent of the phrase. It disregarded the concept of equal treatment before the law and the rights to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness declared in the Declaration of Independence. When Jefferson wrote that letter to a church he intended that phrase to indicate protection of the church from government intrusion or mistreatment.
Since then, judges have made a number of unconstitutional decisions including banning the Holy Bible as a primary source for education, banning voluntary school prayer by school staff. Also more recently denying small business owners the right to maintain their religious convictions and decline to participate in immoral and unhealthy sexual practices. No law passed by congress mandated those practices, so the courts did not have grounds to deny those practices. As the first amendment to the constitution states:
Amendment I
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
I pray the next Supreme Court Justice will restore the right to religious freedom that previous courts have denied. The Senate Democratic Party leadership has hindered the cause of justice in our society. They have delayed unfairly the filling of judicial positions by qualified people nominated by President Donald Trump. This is a big factor in why there are backlogs of court cases to be settled.
We need more conservative senators to speed up putting more judges in place that honor the Constitution and religious freedom. I pray you vote Republican and encourage others to do so.
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See also my resources on Christianity