SIVACRACY.NET

... and that the First Amendment applies to me less than it applies to him.

Why? Not because I am a liberal. Not this time, anyway.

It's because he does not think that millions of American Hindus (or Buddhists, Jains, Unitarians, or atheists) have standing under the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.

Scalia writes in his dissent in McCreary County v. ACLU:

With respect to public acknowledgment of religious belief, it is entirely clear from our Nation's historical practices that the Establishment Clause permits this disregard of polytheists and believers in unconcerned deities just as it permits the disregard of devout atheists

... [T]here is a distance between the acknowledgment of a single Creator and the establishment of a religion. The former is, as Marsh v. Chambers put it, "a tolerable acknowledgement of beliefs widely held among the people of this country." The three most popular religions in the United States, Christianity, Judaism and Islam-- which combined account for 97.7% of all believers -- are monotheistic. All of them, moreover (Islam included), believe that the Ten Commandments were given by God to Moses, and are divine prescriptions for a virtuous life Publicly honoring the Ten Commandments is thus indistinguishable, insofar as discriminating against other religions is concerned, from publicly honoring God. Both practices are recognized across such a broad and diverse range of the population-- from Christians to Muslims-- that they cannot reasonably be understood as a government endorsement of a religious viewpoint

Yes. He said "Deists." Not kidding. Apparently he thinks his beloved Founding Fathers are second-class citizens as well! I don't feel so bad now: Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison and I will have a rockin' party in Hell! That Benjamin Rush guy is not invited, though. He is such a dweeb.

As Yale Law professor Jack Balkin explains:

And there you have it. If you aren't a monotheist who believes in a personal God, the government may disregard you. You don't count. We won't persecute you, of course, that would violate the Free Exercise of Religion. But we can disregard you. You are insignificant. You are not us, or perhaps more correctly, we count you as part of us when government acknowledges God, and disregard your protestations to the contrary that you have been left out.

Scalia does not deny he makes this distinction. And Balkin is not the only one who is alarmed by this bigotry. In fact, Justice Stevens sees it, too. Here is Scalia responding:

I must respond to JUSTICE STEVENS' assertion that I would "marginaliz[e]" the belief systems of more than 7 million Americans" who adhere to religions that are not monotheistic. Surely that is a gross exaggeration. The beliefs of those citizens are entirely protected by the Free Exercise Clause, and by those aspects of the Establishment Clause that do not relate to government acknowledgment of the Creator.

Balkin summarizes his issue with Scalia:

Once again, I must insist, as I have before in other posts, that although Justice Scalia repeatedly claims that his theory of adherence to text, original understanding and tradition is superior because it constrains judges from imposing their personal views into the Constitution, it does nothing of the sort. This case is a perfect example. Justice Scalia has particular views about religion and about what sorts of government invocations of religion should or should not be regarded as offensive or as marginalizing people with different religious beliefs than his own. These political beliefs produce the outcome he takes in this case

I urge you to read his entire analysis. Jack has to be polite and judicious. That's his job and his temperment. I don't. Here is my problem with Scalia:

Not only does he not understand the diverse forms of the monotheistic religions he champions, Scalia is a hypocrite as well as an ignorant bigot. He claims to be for something called "originalism" and against something called "activism," yet he has no problem being all "activist" if it supports his bigotry or helps his son get a job in the Justice Department.

God(s) -- or no God, whatever -- help us if this guy gets to be Chief Justice.