People of Praise: Barrett’s secretive faith group
Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett’s Catholicism is “irrelevant,” but her lifelong participation in the “fringe, right-wing sect” People of Praise “definitely isn’t,” said Joan Walsh in TheNation.com. Barrett’s father was a member when she grew up in suburban New Orleans, and the charismatic Christian group is based in South Bend, Ind., where her family lives now. With 1,650 adult members nationwide, People of Praise is extremely tight-knit (some ex-members say cultish), with members participating in every aspect of one another’s lives. People of Praise opposes abortion and bars openly gay members. It draws on Pentecostalism, including speaking in tongues and direct revelations from God, and places men at the “head” of the family, with wives taught to submit to their husbands. The question isn’t if but how Barrett’s immersion in this traditionalist sect would shape her jurisprudence on contraception, abortion, marriage equality, and women’s rights.
“Millions of American Christians see echoes of their lives” in Barrett’s faith, said David French in TheDispatch.com. The secular media’s description of People of Praise as “strange” or “weird” reflects its “glaring” ignorance about Christianity. Many Christians live in spiritual communities, and outsiders who’ve spent time at People of Praise services often remark on the deep fellowship and caring among members. As for taking advice from elders, what’s wrong with seeking guidance from people who’ve demonstrated “wisdom and spiritual maturity”? Referring to men as the spiritual “heads” of households is common in evangelicalism, said Nicholas Rowan in Washington Examiner.com. And yes, women members of People of Praise used to call themselves handmaidens, but so did “the Blessed Virgin Mary.”
Still, it’s “entirely fair” to ask questions about this group, said Massimo Faggioli in Politico.com.
As a Catholic scholar, I can tell you that “Amy Coney Barrett is not Catholic like John F. Kennedy was Catholic or Joe Biden or Paul Ryan or the late Antonin Scalia was Catholic.” Barrett didn’t disclose her membership in People of Praise when she was confirmed as a federal judge in 2017, and the group has removed photos and references to Barrett from its website. Why? “Is there tension” between serving as one of the final interpreters of the Constitution and “swearing an oath” of obedience to a personal “spiritual director”? These questions are relevant, and Barrett should not be confirmed until she answers them.