S3, Ep. 13: Ketanji Brown Jackson’s confirmation hearings: The historic, the outrageous and the awkward

Amanda and Holly return to recap Judge Jackson’s confirmation hearings and a new story on the influence of Christian nationalism in conversations on January 6

Apr 7, 2022

The expected and the unexpected came up during Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s confirmation hearings to be a Supreme Court justice. Amanda and Holly review key exchanges, including questions about her personal religious belief and religious liberty. Plus, they review the jaw-dropping news about texts from Virginia Thomas – wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas – on January 6 that showcase the prominence of Christian nationalism in the events and conversations that culminated in the attack on the Capitol.

Segment 1: We’re back! What’s happened since our last podcast? A review of events and a look at Judge Jackson’s nomination (starting at 00:58)

Amanda and Holly previewed the case of Ramirez v. Collier in episode 4 and episode 2 of this season, and they discussed Kennedy v. Bremerton in episode 10.

Read more about the event led by the Progressive National Baptist Convention on the first day of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s confirmation hearings in this article from Baptist News Global: PNBC leads call to action for voting rights, democracy

Learn more about the Walter B. and Kay W. Shurden Lectures on our website at BJConline.org/ShurdenLectures

A new Marquette University Law School poll shows the national support for confirming Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson. You can read it at this link.

Read Holly’s review of Judge Jackson’s record at this link.

Segment 2: Religion in Judge Jackson’s hearings (starting at 20:43)

BJC’s website has two articles with video clips of the conversations about religion during Judge Jackson’s confirmation hearings:

Day two, featuring clips from Sen. Lindsey Graham, Sen. John Cornyn, and Sen. John Kennedy
Day three, featuring clips from Sen. Cornyn and Sen. Jon Ossoff

During the podcast, we played clips involving questions from Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina; Sen. John Kennedy, R-Louisiana; Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas; and Sen. Jon Osoff, D-Georgia.

Segment 3: Virginia Thomas and January 6: Texts and Christian nationalism conversations (starting at 41:57)

The Washington Post broke the story in this article by Bob Woodward and Robert Costa article: Virginia Thomas urged White House chief to pursue unrelenting efforts to overturn the 2020 election, texts show

Amanda also tweeted about the jaw-dropping story.

Holly mentioned this opinion piece by Michael Gerson at The Washington Post: What the Ginni Thomas text furor warns about an outsize role of faith in politics

Read the report on Christian Nationalism and the January 6, 2021, Insurrection, a joint project between BJC and the Freedom From Religion Foundation.

Read and sign the Christians Against Christian Nationalism statement online.

Respecting Religion is made possible by BJC’s generous donors. You can support these conversations with a gift to BJC.

Three women walking down the white marble steps of the Supreme Court building

BJC in the Courts

Religious liberty in Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s confirmation hearings