# Amy Coney Barret and Atheists? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 23, 2021, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amy-coney-barret-and-atheists/942720 "2021-05-23T03:42:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2021, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amy-coney-barret-and-atheists/942720/103 "2021-05-25T15:25:15Z")
Posing on the SDMB _is_ a lack of exercising religion, unless you worship the SDMB or Cecil or something. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2021, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amy-coney-barret-and-atheists/942720/104 "2021-05-25T15:47:04Z")
Indeed it is and that is my point. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2021, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amy-coney-barret-and-atheists/942720/105 "2021-05-25T16:37:18Z")
_What_ is your point? ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2021, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amy-coney-barret-and-atheists/942720/106 "2021-05-25T16:40:08Z")
As an atheist, I live in the same world as the people who like to pretend God exists. My stake in the world is higher in fact, because I’m aware there isn’t one available after this to make up for the misery/injustice that people accrue during life. So my problems with her are everyone’s problems, she’s likely to damage the actual world we all live in. Aside from the general issue that a highly religious person is going to likely use the completely fictional myths she believes in to weigh her decisions, rather than actually using her rational judgement… I have a young daughter. She is more likely to not have access to abortion and/or birth control. She’s more likely to have fewer rights in general, owing to the desire to strip women of their general equality. She’s more likely to face a world where the disdain for women’s rights is acceptable and common to express. If she turns out LGBT, having fanatical Catholic on the court is horrifying. Her being a seething conservative ideologue is also an issue, of course. Seeing as American conservatives are wrong on nearly every issue they cling to. With her on the bench, I’m more likely to be shot, to live in a society with massive wealth disparities, to live in a world with out-of-control global warming, that continues our broken medical system, with zero consequences for crooked politicians (at least Republican ones). Pretty much she’s terrible, and aside from the hundreds of thousands of Americans Trump’s weakness and petulance killed, is the worst thing he did. At least, Justice “Beer! Woooooo!” is just an incompetent asshole. ACB thinks that magic won’t let anything bad happen as long as we grovel hard enough to God. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2021, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amy-coney-barret-and-atheists/942720/107 "2021-05-25T17:46:45Z")
Hey, don’t hold back. Tell us how you really feel… ---
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2021, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amy-coney-barret-and-atheists/942720/108 "2021-05-25T17:52:05Z")
> [@Lobohan](#): > > I live in the same world as the people who like to pretend God exists. Those of us who are not atheists do not _pretend_ that God exists, we _believe_ that God exists. There is a huge difference, and your use of the word “pretend” comes across as insulting (because it quite clearly rejects any acknowledgement that we actually believe what we say we believe – you’re basically calling us liars). Which I’m sure wasn’t your intention. ---
**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2021, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amy-coney-barret-and-atheists/942720/109 "2021-05-25T17:57:05Z")
I feel like a lot of you are just listing ways that conservative Republican justices are bad because of your political preferences–which is fine, but none of it strikes me as being particularly distinct to Justice Barrett. ---
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2021, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amy-coney-barret-and-atheists/942720/110 "2021-05-25T18:06:41Z")
> [@Lobohan](#): > > If she turns out LGBT, having fanatical Catholic on the court is horrifying. Do you believe that Catholics should not be appointed to the Supreme Court? How about the circuit courts? District courts? ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2021, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amy-coney-barret-and-atheists/942720/111 "2021-05-25T18:07:40Z")
> [@Saintly\_Loser](#): > > > [@Lobohan](#): > > > > I live in the same world as the people who like to pretend God exists. > > Those of us who are not atheists do not _pretend_ that God exists, we _believe_ that God exists. There is a huge difference, and your use of the word “pretend” comes across as insulting (because it quite clearly rejects any acknowledgement that we actually believe what we say we believe – you’re basically calling us liars). > > Which I’m sure wasn’t your intention. I don’t think that self-delusion is a lie. We all tell ourselves happy stories that make the world easier to take. But I see what you’re saying. How about change, “pretend” to “believe with no evidence.” ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2021, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amy-coney-barret-and-atheists/942720/112 "2021-05-25T18:09:59Z")
Frankly, I agree with whomever said, it’s not an atheists/religious divide as much as a Christian/everyone else divide. In general, Judaism has little issue with abortion, doesn’t have the afterlife as a strong influence (in that we focus on here and now) and most Jews are highly invested in separation of church and state. While the lines aren’t absolute, as much as we have to talk about generalizations, I think the Christian v Non- Christian is the more relevant discussion. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2021, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amy-coney-barret-and-atheists/942720/113 "2021-05-25T18:10:19Z")
> [@Saintly\_Loser](#): > > > [@Lobohan](#): > > > > having fanatical Catholic on the court is horrifying. > > Do you believe that Catholics should not be appointed to the Supreme Court? How about the circuit courts? District courts? Do you believe that all Catholics are fanatical? ---
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2021, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amy-coney-barret-and-atheists/942720/114 "2021-05-25T18:12:31Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > Frankly, I agree with whomever said, it’s not an atheists/religious divide as much as a Christian/everyone else divide. I believe this to be factually wrong. There are a number of Christian denominations that are not opposed to the legalization of abortion. You are mistaken to assume that Christianity is monolithic on this issue. ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2021, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amy-coney-barret-and-atheists/942720/115 "2021-05-25T18:12:53Z")
> [@Martin\_Hyde](#): > > I feel like a lot of you are just listing ways that conservative Republican justices are bad because of your political preferences–which is fine, but none of it strikes me as being particularly distinct to Justice Barrett. I’d say the issue is that she’s a fanatic. For instance, Judge Scalia was a Catholic, but he wasn’t part of an especially delusional group like the, “People of Praise” that ACB belongs to. And being a fanatic is a lever that makes her otherwise pedestrian conservative beliefs more dangerous. Like I say, Justice Kavanaugh is just an incompetent asshole. ACB is a true believer. And true believers don’t weigh issues critically, in my experience. ---
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2021, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amy-coney-barret-and-atheists/942720/116 "2021-05-25T18:14:00Z")
> [@Lobohan](#): > > I’d say the issue is that she’s a fanatic. For instance, Judge Scalia was a Catholic, but he wasn’t part of an especially delusional group like the, “People of Praise” that ACB belongs to. He was widely believed among Catholics to be an Opus Dei member. Opus Dei is, in my opinion, much more extreme than People of Praise, which is basically a charismatic organization. And we’re back to “delusional,” are we? ---
**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2021, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amy-coney-barret-and-atheists/942720/117 "2021-05-25T18:14:07Z")
I haven’t seen any evidence that ACB is any different than other conservative judges in her legal career to this point. “Fanatic” is also a value judgment, I haven’t seen any real evidence she’s what I would call a fanatic, she’s an ideological conservative Christian. ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2021, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amy-coney-barret-and-atheists/942720/118 "2021-05-25T18:14:22Z")
> [@Saintly\_Loser](#): > > > [@Lobohan](#): > > > > If she turns out LGBT, having fanatical Catholic on the court is horrifying. > > Do you believe that Catholics should not be appointed to the Supreme Court? How about the circuit courts? District courts? I don’t think fanatics should be. ---
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2021, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amy-coney-barret-and-atheists/942720/119 "2021-05-25T18:14:42Z")
That seems to be ducking the question. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2021, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amy-coney-barret-and-atheists/942720/120 "2021-05-25T18:18:10Z")
Sigh, I was speaking in generalizations, as I said. Not all Jews have the same opinion either. However, as the dominant culture (to the point that the weekly, academic, and federal calendars are aligned to support Christianity), it’s needs are the easiest met and needs outside of that generally need to be “accommodated”. That’s the point- not that it’s a monolith, but they have the biggest voices and the assumption of being accommodated. ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2021, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amy-coney-barret-and-atheists/942720/121 "2021-05-25T18:18:37Z")
> [@Martin\_Hyde](#): > > I haven’t seen any evidence that ACB is any different than other conservative judges in her legal career to this point. “Fanatic” is also a value judgment, I haven’t seen any real evidence she’s what I would call a fanatic, she’s an ideological conservative Christian. Fair enough. I’m basing my assessment on the fanatic thing on her membership in the People of Praise. It seems to me to be a lot more culty than standard Catholic faith. This is the article I was thinking of: > **[Inside the People of Praise, the Tight-Knit Faith Community of Amy Coney...](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/08/us/people-of-praise-amy-coney-barrett.html)** > > Even for a conservative religious community, the People of Praise is notable in how deeply embedded members are in one another’s lives. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2021, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amy-coney-barret-and-atheists/942720/122 "2021-05-25T18:20:51Z")
> [@Martin\_Hyde](#): > > haven’t seen any evidence that ACB is any different than other conservative judges in her legal career to this point. “Fanatic” is also a value judgment, I haven’t seen any real evidence she’s what I would call a fanatic, she’s an ideological conservative Christian. The issue isn’t if she’s fanatical per se. The issue is if she believes that her Christianity has a place in secular law. If any of her decisions are based on religious leanings or preferences, that’s a problem. I don’t care how religious you are, as long as you can keep religious justifications or religious prioritization out of your decision making. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amy-coney-barret-and-atheists/942720.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amy-coney-barret-and-atheists/942720.md?page=7)