In support of my continuing
argument for the separation of Church and State, I invoke the wisdom of Justice
Amy Coney Barrett.
In her book Listening
to the Law, she writes “ My office doesn’t entitle me to align the legal
system with my moral or policy views. Swearing to apply the law means deciding
each case based on what the law is. If I decide the case based on what I
think the law should be, I’m cheating.” ( page 28)
She, just paragraphs
earlier in the book, discussed her agreement that according to the law the
death penalty for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was legal even though her personal religious
faith was contrary to the death penalty.
During a Notre Dame
speaking event on September 12, 2025, Barrett said “ a judge’s role is to look at the law, not their own sense of
what’s fair, sensible or moral.”
I assert that the
Constitution is an amoral social contract, meaning that it was not designed to
impose, endorse or declare what is “ fair, sensible or moral”. Neither was the
Supreme Court, or any lower court charged with making “moral” decisions.
That assertion does not
mean that governments cannot enact laws to improve the conditions of people. In
fact, one of the charges given to government is expressed in the Preamble to
the United States Constitution…”to promote the general welfare”.
Promoting the general
welfare of our nation involves feeding the hungry, clothing the naked,
educating those that lack sufficient knowledge and skill to thrive in society,
making healthcare an absolute right, and other programs that improve the
conditions of persons. These are practical and profitable pursuits for the
common benefit aside from whatever religious or moral calculations may be
involved.
Whatever we may think to
be “fair, sensible, or moral” is the purview of the church, synagogue, temple,
Mosque, philosopher and ethicist. But not any level of government which has a
duty to provide to all persons the equal protection of the law.
I recommend Listening
to the Law, regardless of whatever policy orientation you may hold. This
book is helpful toward understanding the Court, the role of a Justice, and the
Constitution.
Another good book is The
Authority of the Court and the Peril of Politics by retired Supreme Court
Justice Stephen Breyer.
I am convinced that an
accurately informed citizenry will have better formation of public policy and
make better decisions at the polls.
