NYタイムズ社説：信仰と裁判所

The New York Times
October 18, 2005
Editorial
Faith and the Court

The White House is making a well-publicized shift in its marketing of Harriet Miers, President Bush's nominee for the Supreme Court. From now on, the talk is to be about her qualifications rather than her heart, her character or, especially, her religion. It's none too soon. The president's attempt to sell his choice on the basis of her evangelical faith has been offensive. Mr. Bush is all in favor of judges strictly interpreting the Constitution, but he seemed to have forgotten about Article VI. That's where the founders decreed that "no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office."

The Bush administration has been using religion as code, to communicate reassurance to the right that Ms. Miers will be opposed to abortion and gay rights, and to dodge legitimate questions about her legal philosophy and qualifications. As a result, the American people have no idea whether Ms. Miers thinks there is a constitutional right to privacy or where she stands on the extent of federal powers, but they do know that she was born a Roman Catholic and became an evangelical Christian. They know that she was a longtime member of the Valley View Christian Church, and that she was one of a small number of worshipers who joined its minister, Ron Key, in breaking away and forming the Cornerstone Christian Church because of a disagreement over styles of worship.

When Ms. Miers came under fire from conservatives, President Bush told reporters that "people ask me why I picked Harriet Miers," and then proceeded to talk about the importance of religion in her life. James Dobson, the founder of Focus on the Family, a conservative Christian group, told a radio audience that he had been assured by Karl Rove, President Bush's top political adviser, that Ms. Miers is a member of "a very conservative church, which is almost universally pro-life."

It is shocking to think that this is the way Americans discuss a Supreme Court nomination in 2005. In the 1960 election, John F. Kennedy struck an important blow for both the separation of church and state and the rights of people of all faiths to be considered for high office when he insisted that his Catholicism should have no bearing on his fitness for the presidency. The Bush administration seems intent on turning back the clock.

The White House is invoking Ms. Miers's religious activities as a substitute for talking about her professional qualifications and her views about the law, which remain a mystery. But her qualifications and beliefs about the law are what matter. As this nomination proceeds, both the nation and Ms. Miers will benefit if we hear less about what kind of a Christian she is, and more about what kind of a justice she would be.

合衆国憲法第六条　〔連邦優位の規定〕

（一）略

（二）略

（三）前述の上院議員および下院議員、各州議会の議員、ならびに合衆国および各州のすべての行政官および司法官は、宣誓または確約により、この憲法を擁護する義務を負う。しかし、合衆国のいかなる官職または信任による公職についても、その資格として宗教上の審査を課せられることはない。


宗教右派に遠慮するブッシュ米政権　最高裁人事で奇妙な動き