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Note: Due to a technical problem, this article from November 24 was not posted until November 29.

"We are fools for Christ's sake … We must pray for the courage to suffer the contempt of the sophisticated world," Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia told a group of religious lawyers.

A Catholic, Scalia was invited to speak to the St. Thomas More Society, where he said the "wise" and "sophisticated" of the world consider faith foolish. According to the Chicago Tribune, "The 'wise' consider Christian fundamentalists to be 'simple-minded' and irrational because they believe in miracles and the resurrection of Jesus Christ, he said. But it is more irrational to reject the possibility of both, he said."

Later, Scalia spoke to the oldest Jewish community in the U.S. in New York. He told the crowd, "There is something wrong with the principle of neutrality." Neutrality as envisioned by the founding fathers "is not neutrality between religiousness and nonreligiousness; it is between denominations of religion."

The Jerusalem Post says Scalia may be in line for Chief Justice. "With speculation that Rehnquist is on the verge of retirement after a recent diagnosis of thyroid cancer, Scalia may be the leading candidate to take his place."

"I suggest that our jurisprudence should comport with our actions," he said. The Post writes, "If America's approach toward religion does change, it should be through democratic process, not 'judicial fiat.' America believes in 'a personal God who takes an interest in the affairs of man,' Scalia said. Quoting a line from Psalms that says the faithful will surely prosper, he added, 'I think it is no accident that America has prospered.'"

It doesn't seem that Scalia is really gunning for the Chief Justice job. Though many Christians agree with his views, he's right about others finding them foolish. Maybe he figures his deeply held beliefs have already disqualified him.

Religion at the drugstore
Deeply held beliefs also disqualify pharmacists from preparing medicine. According to a CBS News/New York Times poll, most people believe you should also check your religion at the door of the pharmacy. Only sixteen percent agreed, "pharmacists should be able to refuse to dispense birth control pills on religious grounds." And support is weak across the board. According to CBS News, only

• 19 percent of men say pharmacists should have the right to refuse to fill a birth control prescription
• 14 percent of women think so.
• 25 percent of Americans age 45 to 64 say pharmacists should have the option of refusing to sell birth control pills because they are personally opposed to birth control.
• 25 percent of those who call themselves Republicans, and the same number who classify themselves as conservatives, say it is OK for pharmacists to refuse a woman birth control pills based on his or her religious beliefs.
• 21 percent of those who say they voted for President Bush in 2004 support the rights of pharmacists who refuse to dispense birth control pills, compared to 12 percent of those who voted for Sen. John Kerry.
• 7 percent of those who never attend religious services support this right for pharmacists.
• Catholics (21 percent) are a bit more likely than Protestants (17 percent) to support the rights of pharmacists who refuse to sell birth control pills because of religious beliefs. Also, 24 percent of white evangelical Christians also favor allowing pharmacists this choice.

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November (Web-only) 2004, Vol. 48