NewsBusters reports on Rosie O’Donnell’s horror that there were five Roman Catholics on the Supreme Court. She suggested that violated the separation of church and state.

The point would have had merit if the Supreme Court decision cited church law. If you’re Justice Breyer or former Justice O’Conner, you might see binding external sources of law as a good thing. :P

The label “Roman Catholic” doesn’t guarantee how one behaves politically. Would all Roman Catholics behave according to the tenets of their faith, we would not see pro-abortion stances from Senators Ted Kennedy, John Kerry, Barbara Mikulski, etc., and Representatives Nancy Pelosi, Linda Sanchez, etc. Even Justice Anthony Kennedy, one of the now despised Roman Catholics, has voted pro-abortion in the past. Kennedy voted to uphold Roe vs. Wade in Planned Parenthood vs. Casey.

As much as we would like to, we cannot reliably use religious labels as indicators for how people will behave. This is why the Constitution wisely says in Article VI, “no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.” What Rosie misconstrues as separation of church and state is in fact the imposition of a religious test.