Jackson eventually curtailed Graham’s line of questioning by saying: “Senator, I am reluctant to talk about my faith in this way just because I want to be mindful of the need for the public to have confidence in my ability to separate out my personal views.”
Graham then launched into a short speech in which he decried questions Democrats asked of Amy Coney Barrett during her 2017 confirmation hearing to become a federal appellate judge. He singled out a question posed to Barrett, a conservative Catholic, at the time by California Democrat Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who pointed to Barrett’s previous speeches and quipped “the dogma lives loudly within you.”
“The reason I ask these questions is — I have no doubt that your faith is important to you, and I have zero doubt that you can adjudicate people’s cases fairly if they’re an atheist,” Graham said.
“You should be proud of your faith. I am convinced that whatever faith you have — and how often you go to church — will not affect your ability to be fair.”
Democrats largely avoided questions about Barrett’s religious beliefs during her 2020 Supreme Court confirmation hearing, although Republicans referenced it often. In fact, the most direct question about Barrett’s faith came from Graham himself, who asked whether she can set aside her Catholic beliefs when acting as a justice. (Barrett said yes.)
This article originally appeared at ReligionNews.com.
