Trump-appointed judges have ruled favorably to conservative Christians but not other religions: study

17 July 2023

During his one term as president, Donald Trump left his mark not only on the U.S. Supreme Court, but also, on the lower federal courts.

One third of the High Court is now comprised of Trump-appointed justices: Brett Kavanaugh, Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett. The Court was leaning conservative long before Trump's presidency, but Trump pushed a specific type of Republican: strict social conservatives who are favorable to the Religious Right's evangelical fundamentalist agenda.

According to a study by New York University's Stephen J. Choi, the University of Virginia's Mitu Gulati and the University of Chicago's Eric A. Posner, the judges Trump appointed to the lower federal courts were likely to be favorable to the Religious Right — although not to Muslims.

The New York Times' Adam Liptak notes, "The study found, for instance, that judges named by Mr. Trump had 'stronger or more numerous religious affiliations' with churches and other houses of worship, with religious schools, and with groups like Alliance Defending Freedom and First Liberty, which have won a series of major Supreme Court cases for conservative Christians. Trump appointees were also much more likely to be members of the Federalist Society, the conservative legal group, than other Republican appointees: 56 percent versus 22 percent."

The study found that Trump-appointed judges had "stronger or more numerous religious affiliations" with churches and with Religious Right groups like First Liberty and the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF). Choi noted, however, that "the specific religion in question" often had a lot to do with how Trump-appointed judges ruled.

"Trump appointees voted in favor of plaintiffs claiming that their right to free exercise of religion had been violated about 45 percent of the time, compared with 36 percent for other Republican appointees and 33 percent of Democratic appointees," Liptak observes. "The gap grew for cases that involved only Christians, to more than 56 percent, compared with 42 percent for other Republican appointees and 29 percent for Democratic ones."

Liptak adds that "the numbers flipped when it came to Muslims, with Trump appointees at 19 percent, compared with 34 percent for other Republican appointees and 48 percent for Democratic ones."

According to the researchers, "The pattern that emerges is consistent with conventional wisdom: Democrats tend to protect minority religions, and Republicans tend to protect Christianity (and possibly Judaism)."

Find the New York Times' full article at this link (subscription required).

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