Clarence Thomas on Religious Tests for Judges and His Return to the Catholic Church

From The Daily Caller: 

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas told a friendly audience in California that religious belief does not compromise the work of the courts, and he expressed regret that religion featured prominently in a 2017 judicial confirmation.

Speaking on April 4 at Pepperdine University School of Law’s annual banquet, Thomas was asked whether it is ever legitimate to consider a candidate’s religious views during the confirmation process. The question was asked with specific reference to Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, who suggested that Judge Amy Coney Barrett was too dogmatic for the federal bench in September 2017.

“I thought we got away from religious tests,” Thomas said. Article VI of the Constitution provides that “no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.”

“I don’t think I know a single judge who has allowed religion to interfere with their jobs,” the justice added.

Thomas is himself a Catholic who entered the seminary and studied for the cloth. He left the Catholic Church in 1968, having judged its efforts to fight racism insufficient. He returned to Catholicism in 1993 and told attendees that he goes to morning Mass before beginning his work at the high court.

“I think if you start the day on your knees you approach your job differently from when you start thinking that someone anointed you to impose your will on others,” Thomas said, emphasizing the importance of humility for judges.

Read on. And watch the video of the discussion below.