US Senators have again taken President Trump’s nominees to task for their (Christian) religious beliefs:

Amy Coney Barrett, a law professor at Notre Dame, was grilled by Democrats over how her Catholic beliefs might influence her decisions from the bench.

“When you read your speeches, the conclusion one draws is that the dogma lives loudly within you, and that’s of concern when you come to big issues that large numbers of people have fought for, for years in this country,” Sen. Feinstein said.

The Senators’ unjustified criticisms of Barrett’s religion has been noted even by the left-leaning Baptist Joint Committee, which published a reminder about “no religious test” in the US for public office:

Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) asked, “Do you consider yourself an Orthodox Catholic?” Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), sounding a bit like a mystical character out of Star Wars, remarked, “The dogma lives loudly within you.” I’m not sure what that means, but it doesn’t sound like a compliment, and seems to reflect a troubling perspective: that a nominee’s personal religious beliefs might disqualify a nominee from serving as a federal judge.

While Feinstein has been “widely condemned” for her critiques, this marks at least the third time US Senators have expressed concerns over the Christian beliefs of President Trump’s nominees. As Michael “Mikey” Weinstein can attest, there is political hay to be made out of demanding that Christians keep their beliefs within the four walls of their home or church, lest they taint the public square with their religion.

Despite the public criticism of the Senators’ lines of questioning, they will likely continue.  The Religion Clause notes two more upcoming judicial nominees hail from First Liberty Institute, a conservative religious liberty legal organization.

For some, their personal outrage against Christians outweighs their outrage against violating the US Constitution — or the basic human liberty of religious freedom.

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