# Why no Atheists on the Supreme Court? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [May 10, 2010, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-atheists-on-the-supreme-court/538915 "2010-05-10T15:01:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Clu-Me-In](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@Clu-Me-In](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clu-Me-In)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2010, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-atheists-on-the-supreme-court/538915/1 "2010-05-10T15:01:07Z")
Has there ever been a known Atheist on the Supreme Court? If not why not? Many Americans are Atheists even though some would never admit it. Is it just cos they would never be confirmed or that no Presdient has been corageous enough to nominate one? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2010, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-atheists-on-the-supreme-court/538915/2 "2010-05-10T15:14:15Z")
> [@Clu-Me-In](#): > > Has there ever been a known Atheist on the Supreme Court? If not why not? Many Americans are Atheists even though some would never admit it. Is it just cos they would never be confirmed or that no Presdient has been corageous enough to nominate one? Well, folks who are outspoken, open atheists are a relatively small minority in the United States. To an extent, the fact we’ve not had any open atheists on the Court (so far as I know) may be simply a result of this. That’s also, I suspect, a big part of the reason we don’t currently have a gay/Muslim/Asian/etc Justice. Folks who can become Supreme Court Justices are very, very rare - larger groups are likelier to produce such persons than smaller ones. Of course, there are exceptions to that rule - once Stevens retires, there will be no Protestants on the Court, for example. And it’d be incredibly disingenuous to deny that historical prejudice has kept a lot of minorities off the Court - and more importantly, out of the practice of law altogether. Consider that anyone who’s a realistic candidate for the Court now would probably have been born no later than the 1950s - regardless of the role that racism/bigotry/sexism plays _now_, these factors were certainly huge back in the day, and kept a lot of people out of law before they could even consider getting into it. All that being said - you’re also asking about whether an otherwise qualified open atheist could be confirmed today. I’m an optimist - I think so. I’m sure the Teabaggers would raise holy hell, but I also believe that even most Republicans in the Senate take the idea that religion (or lack thereof) should not be a qualification for office seriously. Such a nominee would have problems in other areas - they’d likely be pro-choice, for example - but atheism qua atheism wouldn’t sink them. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2010, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-atheists-on-the-supreme-court/538915/3 "2010-05-10T15:18:55Z")
> [@Mr.Excellent](#): > > All that being said - you’re also asking about whether an otherwise qualified open atheist could be confirmed today. I’m an optimist - I think so. I’m sure the Teabaggers would raise holy hell, but I also believe that even most Republicans in the Senate take the idea that religion (or lack thereof) should not be a qualification for office seriously. Such a nominee would have problems in other areas - they’d likely be pro-choice, for example - but atheism qua atheism wouldn’t sink them. I doubt that a president would take such a gamble as to nominate a vocally open atheist in the first place, though. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2010, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-atheists-on-the-supreme-court/538915/4 "2010-05-10T15:24:51Z")
Atheists? There will no longer be a \*Protestant \*on the court. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2010, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-atheists-on-the-supreme-court/538915/5 "2010-05-10T15:29:34Z")
Atheists in the public light know well not to say anything about religion. You just ignore the subject and go through the motions. I am sure there have been non believers before. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2010, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-atheists-on-the-supreme-court/538915/6 "2010-05-10T15:29:44Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > I doubt that a president would take such a gamble as to nominate a vocally open atheist in the first place, though. You may be right. Hell, you’re _likely_ correct. However, I choose to believe that if an outspoken atheist were also clearly the best candidate for the nomination, the President would go ahead with it. It makes me happier about life. Moot point, though. I can think of some lawyers with _some_ degree of notoriety who’re outspoken atheists - heck, take a look at the Freefrom From Religion Foundation’s roster - but no one who’s even remotely close to Supreme Court caliber. The closest might be John Jones III, the judge who decided _Kitzmiller_. Kitzmiller’s not an atheist, though - at least not publicly, and I doubt it privately. He merely ruled that a creationism-heavy science curriculum would have constituted an Establishment Clause violation. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2010, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-atheists-on-the-supreme-court/538915/7 "2010-05-10T15:30:46Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > Atheists in the public light know well not to say anything about religion. You just ignore the subject and go through the motions. I am sure there have been non believers before. Agreed. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2010, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-atheists-on-the-supreme-court/538915/8 "2010-05-10T15:33:29Z")
> [@Mr.Excellent](#): > > You may be right. Hell, you’re _likely_ correct. However, I choose to believe that if an outspoken atheist were also clearly the best candidate for the nomination, the President would go ahead with it. It makes me happier about life. I don’t believe there is ever a single individual who is “the best” candidate. Rather, there are number of highly qualified individuals, each with different strengths and weaknesses. Being an atheist would be viewed as a weakness by the vast majority of Americans. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2010, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-atheists-on-the-supreme-court/538915/9 "2010-05-10T15:46:45Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > I don’t believe there is ever a single individual who is “the best” candidate. Rather, there are number of highly qualified individuals, each with different strengths and weaknesses. Being an atheist would be viewed as a weakness by the vast majority of Americans. Sure, but at the end of the day, those strengths and weaknesses get weighed, and some single candidate becomes more attractive than the others. That’s why Elena Kagan is getting the nomination today - I’m sure Obama doesn’t think she’s a _perfect_ candidate, but overall she’s the _best_ choice available. I’m not sure that the vast majority of Americans would view atheism as a weakness. I mean, certainly the Teabaggers would, but there’s a tiny fringe. I know _I_ wouldn’t view atheism as a weakness in a Justice. Would you? How about the religious conservatives on this Board? I don’t want to put words in their mouths, but I doubt they’d impose a religious litmus test any more than I’d seek to _ban_ people of faith from the Court. I don’t deny that there are a lot of people with genuinely bad ideas out there. But I also believe that we do the American people a disservice when we assume that they are so conservative, so reactionary, so blinkered, that they would find a Supreme Court nominee hard to stomach on the basis purely of their faith (or lack thereof). ---
**Author:** ![DanBlather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@DanBlather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DanBlather)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2010, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-atheists-on-the-supreme-court/538915/10 "2010-05-10T15:48:39Z")
They want to put a Protestant on there first. It’s amazing that we have none. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2010, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-atheists-on-the-supreme-court/538915/11 "2010-05-10T16:08:24Z")
> [@Mr.Excellent](#): > > Sure, but at the end of the day, those strengths and weaknesses get weighed, and some single candidate becomes more attractive than the others. That’s why Elena Kagan is getting the nomination today - I’m sure Obama doesn’t think she’s a _perfect_ candidate, but overall she’s the _best_ choice available. > > I’m not sure that the vast majority of Americans would view atheism as a weakness. I mean, certainly the Teabaggers would, but there’s a tiny fringe. I know _I_ wouldn’t view atheism as a weakness in a Justice. Would you? How about the religious conservatives on this Board? I don’t want to put words in their mouths, but I doubt they’d impose a religious litmus test any more than I’d seek to _ban_ people of faith from the Court. > > I don’t deny that there are a lot of people with genuinely bad ideas out there. But I also believe that we do the American people a disservice when we assume that they are so conservative, so reactionary, so blinkered, that they would find a Supreme Court nominee hard to stomach on the basis purely of their faith (or lack thereof). Well, I guess we can agree that the “best” candidate is the one among those chosen by a president who is most likely to be confirmed. No, I wouldn’t consider atheism to be a weakness. I’d consider it a strength. I don’t know why you are focusing on Tea Partiers. Most Americans are religious and most Americans would have trouble voting for an openly atheistic president. Why would they care less about a SCOTUS justice who will serve in that position for life? ---
**Author:** ![Clu-Me-In](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@Clu-Me-In](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clu-Me-In)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2010, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-atheists-on-the-supreme-court/538915/12 "2010-05-10T16:27:11Z")
Protestants, Catholics and Jews are pretty much cut from the same cloth. I’d have to believe that for one to vote to uphold Roe V Wade, they can’t seriously consider themselves believers. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2010, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-atheists-on-the-supreme-court/538915/13 "2010-05-10T16:30:09Z")
> [@Mr.Excellent](#): > > I’m not sure that the vast majority of Americans would view atheism as a weakness. Every study that I’ve heard of says that atheists are either the least trusted group in America or the runner up for it. Atheists are despised in this country. Most Americans I’m sure would assume that an atheist candidate for the court was either evil because they don’t believe in God, or really a believer and lying about it (because after all, “everyone knows” that God is real so anyone claiming to be an atheist is lying). ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2010, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-atheists-on-the-supreme-court/538915/14 "2010-05-10T16:51:09Z")
> [@Clu-Me-In](#): > > Protestants, Catholics and Jews are pretty much cut from the same cloth. I’d have to believe that for one to vote to uphold Roe V Wade, they can’t seriously consider themselves believers. You are very naive, in your understanding of people of faith. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2010, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-atheists-on-the-supreme-court/538915/15 "2010-05-10T17:07:30Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > (snip) or really a believer and lying about it (because after all, “everyone knows” that God is real so anyone claiming to be an atheist is lying). Yeah, I sometimes read of people who think atheists are mad at god, because they think god let them down in some way. I wonder how Osiris and Zeus let that person down. Not to mention all those leprechauns. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2010, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-atheists-on-the-supreme-court/538915/16 "2010-05-10T17:47:59Z")
I could buy there there’s at least one on the court right now, just going through the motions. ---
**Author:** ![Clu-Me-In](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@Clu-Me-In](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clu-Me-In)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2010, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-atheists-on-the-supreme-court/538915/17 "2010-05-10T18:03:57Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > I could buy there there’s at least one on the court right now, just going through the motions. Kennedy? ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2010, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-atheists-on-the-supreme-court/538915/18 "2010-05-10T18:07:10Z")
I’ve no idea, just a reasonable expectation that among nine reasonably well-educated Americans of varied backgrounds, one has privately let their religious views lapse. ---
**Author:** ![Valgard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7feea3/32.png) [@Valgard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valgard)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2010, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-atheists-on-the-supreme-court/538915/19 "2010-05-10T18:37:49Z")
> [@Revtim](#): > > Yeah, I sometimes read of people who think atheists are mad at god, because they think god let them down in some way. > > I wonder how Osiris and Zeus let that person down. Not to mention all those leprechauns. Perhaps they still hold a grudge that Frosted Lucky Charms are not in fact “Magically Delicious”. ---
**Author:** ![Blaster\_Master](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cab0a1/32.png) [@Blaster\_Master](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blaster_Master)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2010, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-atheists-on-the-supreme-court/538915/20 "2010-05-10T18:53:17Z")
I think that there are no atheists in the Supreme court is a direct consequence of how our system works. The overwhelming majority of the country believes in God (86%, but the exact percentage is irrelevant). As such, chances are an even higher percentage of our elected officials will be religious. Thus, anyone that is likely to be selected by the president and be confirmed by congress is even more likely to be religious. So I would say the supreme court is sort of like a representation of the representation of the people, so minorities get marginalized. Then further consider that there’s not really any sort of organized movement, at least not that I’m aware of, to get atheist representation elected or appointed like there is for most other minorities like race, sex, orientation, etc. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-atheists-on-the-supreme-court/538915.md?page=2)