“Judicial philosophy is the most important factor.”
Correct. And what determines Judicial philosophy?
Background, education and religious values. The understanding that a Civil Right cannot be a Moral Wrong.
A potential justice’s religious affiliation is part of the picture, but it doesn’t tell the whole story and may even be misleading.
The task of a justice is to interpret the Constitution and other laws. We often say that justices shouldn’t legislate from the bench. They shouldn’t bend the law. They shouldn’t declare an act of the legislature unconstitutional just because they don’t agree with it. They should try to find out what the text meant when it was adopted.
A justice’s religious faith may influence how he will decide abortion and religious freedom cases. But as far as abortion is concerned, a pro-life justice who is an originalist won’t say that states must ban abortions.
In many cases religious values offer no immediate answer. What is the Baptist view of the Second Ammendment? What is the Presbyterian view of the Fourth Ammendment?
What about Harriet Miers? She gave that infamous speech, full of progressive views, after she supposedly became born-again.