WASHINGTON — When the Supreme Court began its new term this month, the arrival of Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. marked a first in the court's history that went almost entirely unnoted.
For the first time, there are fewer Protestants on the court than Catholics. Roberts brought the number of Catholics to four. Three of the justices are Protestant, two are Jewish.
It was scarcely noticed at the time because the religious makeup of the high court is rarely discussed, partly because of the constitutional separation of church and state.
Judges, among other officials, "shall be bound by oath or affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States," the authors of the Constitution said in 1787.
But last week, religion suddenly loomed large in the debate over President Bush's latest Supreme Court nominee, Harriet E. Miers, after the White House cited her faith and her membership in an evangelical Christian church as reasons for conservatives to support her.
The left and right quickly found something they could agree on: Both sides said religion should not be the basis for being a justice.
"We are the last people on Earth to object to the news that she is a committed Christian," said Family Research Council President Tony Perkins, whose conservative advocacy group says it "promotes the Judeo-Christian worldview." But "this fact is not grounds for certifying her to us or to the public," Perkins said. "Inferences drawn from an individual's religious affiliation have no place in decisions to nominate or confirm a judicial appointee."
Sounding the same note, the executive director of the nonsectarian Americans United for Separation of Church and State advocacy group, Barry W. Lynn, said it was "appalling and hypocritical" for the White House to promote Miers because of her church membership.
"We were told we weren't even allowed to bring up the topic of religion when John G. Roberts was nominated for the Supreme Court. Anyone who did was quickly labeled a bigot," Lynn said. "Now Bush and [his deputy chief of staff Karl] Rove are touting where Miers goes to church and using that as a selling point."
Most legal scholars reject a focus on a judge's religion because of what they see as the basic difference between law and politics: Politicians may highlight their faith when they run for office, and voters may elect them because of their religion; but judges are supposed to base decisions on the law, not on personal views or religious convictions.
