When U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens retires from the bench this summer, he will close the era of Protestant faith there. There will be no jurist of Protestant descent who honors the Establishment Clause (Associate Justices Antonio Scalia and Clarence Thomas want it abolished).

While I support the prohibition of a religious test for public office as stated in the Constitution, Christian conservatives used a religious test in the 2008 Republican presidential primaries against Mormonism and on candidates who favor abortion and same-sex marriages.

The majority (51 percent) of the general population expresses Protestantism. Let’s face it, religion matters in America, and it is exercised freely with restraints in society.

President Obama nominated Elena Kagan, the first female dean of Harvard Law School, to fill the court vacancy. Her appointment, if confirmed, seals a vote of three Jewish members representing 33 percent (1.7 percent of the population) and a Catholic bloc of six jurists equaling 67 percent (25 percent of the population) of nine justices; not one Protestant will be represented on the court.

Since Protestantism is declining nationwide, especially among those aged 18 to 29, I guess Obama saw the handwriting on the wall and acted accordingly. Only time will tell what judicial rulings have enhanced or engulfed the nation.

Isaiah J. Ashe

Huntsville