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William Rehnquist on Welfare & Poverty

Supreme Court Justice (nominated by Pres. Nixon 1972)

 


"Separation of church and state" is metaphor & bad history

Chief Justice William Rehnquist, in a US Supreme Court minority opinion, has written, "The 'wall of separation between church and state' is a metaphor based on bad history, a metaphor which has proved useless as a guide to judging. It should be frankly and explicitly abandoned."

Government funding of social programs through "faith-based initiatives" appeals to religious groups who have no qualms about breaking down the historic wall between religion and government. They substitute certain charitable services in a religious environment for more broad and equitable government programs. These initiatives bypass the historic implementation of the First Amendment by channeling taxpayers' dollars to churches and other religion-based providers of social services under contrived rules that allow for proselytizing and putting religious tests on hiring employees.

Source: Our Endangered Values, by Jimmy Carter, p. 60-61 , Sep 26, 2006

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Other Justices on Welfare & Poverty: William Rehnquist on other issues:
Samuel Alito(since 2006)
Stephen Breyer(since 1994)
Ruth Bader Ginsburg(since 1993)
Elena Kagan(since 2010)
Anthony Kennedy(since 1988)
John Roberts(since 2005)
Sonia Sotomayor(since 2009)
Clarence Thomas(since 1991)

Former Justices:
Merrick Garland(nominated 2016)
Antonin Scalia(1986-2016)
John Paul Stevens(1975-2010)
David Souter(1990-2009)
Sandra Day O'Connor(1981-2006)
William Rehnquist(1975-2005)

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Page last updated: Feb 02, 2020