As we all know, the religious right’s insistence that all it wants is a place at the table for socially conservative Americans is a transparent lie. The latest evidence of this comes from a freshman state representative in South Carolina who is under fire for asking candidates for state judgeships if they believe in God.
In South Carolina, judges are elected in a joint session of both houses of the General Assembly–all the way from the state supreme court to circuit courts. This process has come under a lot of fire, mainly because it is believed it gives the legislature far too much influence over the judiciary. The critics of this process may have gotten a lot of ammunition last week in the form of a questionnaire from Jonathon Hill, who represents part of Anderson–the third city in the Upstate–in the state house. All you need to know about his politics is that he is the chief organizer of the Anderson Tea Party. Well, almost all. The other thing you need to know is that he appears to have a severely warped view of the First Amendment. Questions #9 and #10 on the list asked:
“Do you believe in the ‘Supreme Being’ (SC Constitution, Article VI, Section 2)? What is the nature of this being? What is your personal relationship to this being? What relevance does this being have on the position of judge? Please be specific.”
“Will you make prayer and religious displays (such as the Ten Commandments) a part of your court? Please explain why or why not.”
When University of South Carolina law professor Greg Adams saw these questions, he concluded that they were unconstitutional. Specifically, they amounted to a religious test for office, which is explicitly forbidden by the federal Constitution. A number of the other questions were problematic as well. Several of them asked how the prospective judge would rule on a specific case if confirmed–for instance, questions about equal pay, abortion, assisted suicide, etc. According to Adams, the state’s Code of Judicial Conduct doesn’t allow judicial candidates to respond to such questions.
However, the religious questions in particular have Hill in damage control mode. When members of the Judicial Merit Selection Commission told Hill that the candidates couldn’t ethically respond to some of these questions, Hill said, “You live and learn.” He added that he plans to craft his questions a little better at the next election.
Now you’re no doubt wondering why Hill could even have thought these questions were a good idea. Well, South Carolina’s constitution states not just once, but three times, that atheists aren’t allowed to hold office in the state. Article VI, section 2–the section referenced in one of Hill’s questions–and Article XVII, section 4 both state, “No person who denies the existence of a Supreme Being shall hold any office under this Constitution.” Article IV, section 2 specifically bars anyone who doesn’t believe in a Supreme Being from serving as governor. However, neither of these provisions have been enforced in modern times. The federal Supreme Court has ruled that such provisions run counter to the Establishment Clause of the federal Constitution’s First Amendment, which is binding on the states via the 14th Amendment. The state supreme court underlined this in 1997, when it held that these provisions not only violate the Establishment Clause, but also the ban on religious tests.
Then again, considering that Hill’s a tea partier, it’s possible that he thinks the incorporation doctrine–something that any fifth grader ought to know–is just another case of librul judicial activism. It’s also likely, though, that he subscribes to the religious right mantra that the First Amendment only protects Christians. According to his campaign Website, he and his family are avid followers of the religious right’s favorite pseudo-historian, David Barton. Don’t expect Hill to have to answer for his lack of basic constitutional literacy, though. Obama only won 33.7 percent of the vote here in 2012–which was actually one of his better showings in the Upstate, an area that for the most part would vote for a comatose Republican. Many of the people in his district undoubtedly subscribe to the “Christian America” myth. He’s probably giving them exactly what they want.
