Are there too many Catholics on the Supreme Court?
(There, I said it.)
But, really. Are there?
Out of the 9 justices, 6 ½ are Catholic. 6 ½ ??
Yep. Gorsuch was raised Catholic and is now Episcopalian.
The others are Roberts, Thomas, Alito, Sotomayor, Kavanaugh, and Barrett.
(Granted — 100 years ago the Supreme Court was White, male, and Protestant.)
Since religious affiliation is not a question addressed in the census,
the best estimates are that 20% of Americans identify as Catholic.
6 ½ justices out of 9 is 72%
Does it matter?
Yes. In two ways.
If a city with a population that was 20% White had 9 council seats,
and 6 of them were held by Whites, there would be serious pushback.
More importantly, one group has never had a Supreme Court seat.
Those who have no religious affiliation — about 25% of Americans, now.
I do not believe that it is inherently anti-Catholic to discuss this imbalance.
Although individual Catholics may hold divergent views on reproductive choice
— most notably Justice Sonia Sotomayor — the Roman Catholic Church
is the largest institution in the world to oppose abortion rights.
Nor does the Catholic Church offer women equality with its leadership.
I believe that the nomination of conservative, Catholic judges
was an intentional effort by George W. Bush and Donald Trump
to undermine and, ultimately, overturn Roe v. Wade.
Which, I believe, is almost a certainty.