Justice Samuel A. Alito was recently secretly recorded by Lauren Windsor, a self-described advocate-journalist posing as a conservative Catholic.

Up front, Good Faith Media strongly condemns using such tactics to obtain information for public news stories. Jane Kirtley, a professor of media ethics and law at the University of Minnesota, expressed her disapproval, saying, “I think it’s fair to say that most ethical journalists deplore that kind of technique. How can you expect your readers or viewers to trust you if you’re getting your story through deception?”

What was unveiled in the secret recording has become yet another controversy in a growing list surrounding the United States Supreme Court. Justices have recently been criticized for taking elaborate vacations paid by mega-political donors and displaying flags in support of extreme right-wing causes.

In addition, some more conservative justices appear to let their religious beliefs persuade some of their most recent rulings. Decisions favoring more conservative positions in cases dealing with abortion, religious-based discrimination, voter’s rights, church-state separation, and several others, give pause to those advocating for a religiously blind court.

Alito told Windsor—again unethically recording the justice to make it public—that a “compromise” between the “left and right” in America was “impossible.” The Justice concluded, “One side or the other is going to win.”

The Associate Justice said, “There can be a way of working, a way of living together peacefully, but it’s difficult, you know, because there are differences on fundamental things that really can’t be compromised.”

So far, Alito’s comments are peculiar for a Supreme Court Justice but not necessarily alarming. However, when Windsor pushed Alito about returning the country to a place of “godliness,” Alito answered, “I agree with you, I agree with you.”

Windsor also questioned Chief Justice John Roberts, but Roberts pushed back, “Would you want me to be in charge of putting the nation on a more moral path? That’s for people we elect. That’s not for lawyers.”

Windsor pressed the Chief Justice with the allegation that America was founded as a Christian nation.  Roberts wisely responded, “I don’t know if that’s true.”

Justice Alito and his spouse have recently been scrutinized after photos of political flags were flown at the couple’s homes. The Alitos flew “Appeal to Heaven” and upside-down American flags, often associated with far-right ideology and Christian nationalism.  

The Alitos claim the flags were flown in response to a disruptive neighbor. The neighbor contradicts the account.  

The evidence is mounting that Justice Alito allows his religious convictions to persuade his decisions from the bench. After authoring the majority opinion revoking abortion rights for women, Alito told a sympathetic crowd, “It’s important to keep in mind that these decisions are not abstract discussions — they have real impact on the world.”

In a 2022 decision that ruled in favor of a Catholic foster care agency’s right to discriminate against same-sex couples, Alito criticized his dissenting colleagues, writing, “Those who count on this Court to stand up for the First Amendment have every right to be disappointed— as am I.”

Alito favors the First Amendment’s Free Exercise Clause over the Establishment Clause. According to the educational resources page of U.S. Courts, the Free Exercise Clause “protects citizens’ right to practice their religion as they please, as long as the practice does not run afoul of a ‘public morals’ or a ‘compelling’ governmental interest.”

The Establishment Clause “prohibits the government from ‘establishing’ a religion,” although the term ‘establishing’ is unclear. The Founders knew far too well the dangers of letting the church—or any religion—dictate the government’s laws, policies, and responsibilities. When religion is given civil authority, almost always, history reveals how quickly marginalization and oppression quickly follow.  

Alito seems to be advocating from his position as an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court for a Christian nation based upon his conservative Catholic beliefs. While Alito has every right to hold his religious beliefs—even as much as they offend me—he has no right to force them into his rulings and opinions that affect millions of people, some who are people of faith and others who are not.   

Windsor secretly and unethically recorded Alito, but the controversial Justice is not secretly hiding his intentions. The evidence is clear that Alito wants to create a Christian nation based on his conservative Catholic beliefs and morals.  

In response to Alito’s not-so-secret mission, I recall the words of late Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, “I dissent.”

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