Jackson invokes her Christian faith

U.S. Supreme Court nominee, however, keeps the topic vague

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson has put her religious faith front, center — and vague.

She’s spoken strongly of the role of her faith in her life and career but hasn’t gotten into the specifics of that commitment. Her beliefs have drawn some attention as she undergoes Senate Judiciary Committee hearings for her nomination to the Supreme Court.

“I must also pause to reaffirm my thanks to God, for it is faith that sustains me at this moment,” Jackson told the committee on Monday, in words similar to her opening remarks after President Joe Biden introduced her last month as his nominee. “Even prior to today, I can honestly say that my life had been blessed beyond measure.”

Jackson identifies as a nondenominational Protestant, she told the committee on Tuesday, when questioned by Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.

Graham pressed, asking how often she attends church. “On a scale of 1 to 10, how faithful would you say you are in terms of religion?”

Jackson replied, “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.” She said her faith is important but noted the Constitution prohibits any religious test for public office.

Graham agreed and conceded she could be impartial — but said he was trying to raise a comparison with what he deemed unfair treatment of a Republican nominee by Democrats. They inquired whether the Catholic views of Amy Coney Barrett in 2017 — then being confirmed to the U.S. Court of Appeals — would influence her decisions on cases like the Roe v. Wade ruling legalizing abortion. Barrett joined the Supreme Court in 2020.

Alluding to Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s famous exchange with Barrett,

Graham said, “How would you feel if a senator up here said, ‘The dogma lives loudly within you and that’s of concern’?”

If Jackson has a specific church affiliation, it could not be readily found in standard Google searches, nor through a keyword search of the roughly 2,000 pages of documents released by the Judiciary Committee, which include a large swath of Jackson’s public record — such as speeches and judicial decisions.

Jackson regularly speaks of the motivating power of faith and prayer — whether in a high school commencement address or a speech on the deep faith of civil rights activists. In an exchange Tuesday with Democratic Sen. Cory Booker, she said, “I focus at times on my faith when I am going through hard times.”

But the record gives no hint of whether she ever belonged to a specific congregation, whether she’s held any church leadership role or whether she

T.J. Kirkpatrick / New York Times Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, questions Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson on Tuesday. President Joe Biden’s nominee to the Supreme Court underwent the Senate Judiciary Committee’s confirmation hearing last week.