The Volokh Conspiracy - <i>This</i> Is Intolerance?

LifeSite.net quotes Catholic League president Bill Donohue:

"In the January 30 edition of the Connecticut Jewish Ledger, Abigail Pogrebin was asked which Jewish persons have left a 'profound impression' on her. She answered, 'I will never forget Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg saying, 'Don't put a [Christmas] wreath on this door.' Indeed, Ginsburg admits to putting a gold mezuzah on her office door's frame as a way of saying, 'This is my space, and please don't put a wreath on this door.' To observant Jews, the mezuzah reminds them of their connection to God. To Ginsburg, who is not observant, it is a symbol of protest.

"Ginsburg used to attend the annual Red Mass, a Catholic Mass that honors lawyers, but then she had a bad experience: 'I went one year and I will never go again, because this sermon was outrageously anti-abortion.' So much for respect for diversity. Just imagine how it would go down in the Jewish community if a Catholic Supreme Court Justice were to say that he would never again attend a particular Jewish event because he had to endure a talk that was 'outrageously pro-abortion.'

"In 1995, the Supreme Court ruled, 7-2, that it was constitutional to put a cross outside Ohio's state capitol building. The ruling said that the park was a public forum open to all expression, and could not therefore exclude a Christian symbol. Ginsburg dissented, explaining to Pogrebin, that 'a Jewish child who is passing by the Capitol' would surmise that 'this is a Christian country,' thus provoking the conclusion that 'There's something wrong with me.' Ginsburg had nothing to say about the fact that a menorah had been allowed on the same grounds prior to the ruling.

"What Ginsburg has said should give all Christians pause, especially Catholics. Her intolerance for our teachings and traditions is striking."

Now I should say that I disagree with Justice Ginsburg's opinion in Pinnette, though not quite on the grounds Mr. Donohue urges.

But what exactly is Donohue's beef with Ginsburg's position on the Mass? Ginsburg used to go to the Mass, presumably because she thought it was a nice gesture, and perhaps because she found it interesting. Then she heard a sermon she strongly disagreed with -- and, horror of horrors, decided to stop going to another religion's religious services! "Respect for diversity" doesn't mean that you have to listen to sermons that you think are wrongheaded. It's not "intoleran[t]." It's not disrespectful of diversity. It's a sign of diversity of opinions, a sign that Ginsburg is not a Catholic, and disagrees strongly with some Catholic views. What precisely is wrong with that?

As to "imagin[ing] how it would go down in the Jewish community if a Catholic Supreme Court Justice were to say that he would never again attend a particular Jewish event because he had to endure a talk that was 'outrageously pro-abortion'" -- shouldn't be too hard. First, let's imagine a Catholic Supreme Court Justice going to a service at a synagogue; I can imagine that, though I'd think that would be pretty rare (perfectly understandable, since I'd expect Catholic Justices to prefer Catholic services to Jewish ones). Then, let's imagine that he heard the rabbi preach a sermon that he thought was "outrageously" pro-abortion-rights (presumably something more than just a mild expression of support); and that he then decided to quit going to a synagogue.

How would Jews feel? How should Jews feel? I suppose they probably should, and would, think: Well, it's nice that he tried to be ecumenical, but I suppose he realized that there really are big gulfs between his religious/political views and our religious/political views, and that there's a reason why people usually go to religious services of their own faith (and their own twist on their own faith) rather than of other faiths. Thanks for coming, sorry you won't be back, guess we disagree on some things.

Likewise as to Christmas wreaths. Ginsburg wasn't trying to ban Christmas wreaths. She wasn't berating someone for wishing her a Merry Christmas. She was trying to subtly convey the message that this is her office, and she wants it to reflect her own cultural identity (my understanding is that she is indeed nonobservant, and that Jewish is to her a cultural identity rather than a religious one) rather than someone else's cultural identity. This isn't even exactly "protest"; but in any event it's hardly "intolerance" to try to control which symbols are put on your own office door.

There is sometimes genuine government discrimination against and intolerance towards religiosity, and sometimes against Christianity. I've criticized it in the past, on many occasions. Justice Stevens's and Ginsburg's dissents in Pinnette, I think, do represent such discrimination against religious speech, though not necessarily against Christian speech.

But the other two examples are not remotely grounds for legitimate complaint. Donahue's complaints work only by turning personal disagreement with others' views, and assertion of one's own cultural identity, into "[dis]respect for diversity" or "intolerance" -- which is to say by sapping the concept of "intolerance" of any real meaning.

	[Eugene Volokh, February 10, 2006 at 3:52pm] Trackbacks This Is Intolerance? LifeSite.net quotes Catholic League president Bill Donohue: "In the January 30 edition of the Connecticut Jewish Ledger, Abigail Pogrebin was asked which Jewish persons have left a 'profound impression' on her. She answered, 'I will never forget Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg saying, 'Don't put a [Christmas] wreath on this door.' Indeed, Ginsburg admits to putting a gold mezuzah on her office door's frame as a way of saying, 'This is my space, and please don't put a wreath on this door.' To observant Jews, the mezuzah reminds them of their connection to God. To Ginsburg, who is not observant, it is a symbol of protest. "Ginsburg used to attend the annual Red Mass, a Catholic Mass that honors lawyers, but then she had a bad experience: 'I went one year and I will never go again, because this sermon was outrageously anti-abortion.' So much for respect for diversity. Just imagine how it would go down in the Jewish community if a Catholic Supreme Court Justice were to say that he would never again attend a particular Jewish event because he had to endure a talk that was 'outrageously pro-abortion.' "In 1995, the Supreme Court ruled, 7-2, that it was constitutional to put a cross outside Ohio's state capitol building. The ruling said that the park was a public forum open to all expression, and could not therefore exclude a Christian symbol. Ginsburg dissented, explaining to Pogrebin, that 'a Jewish child who is passing by the Capitol' would surmise that 'this is a Christian country,' thus provoking the conclusion that 'There's something wrong with me.' Ginsburg had nothing to say about the fact that a menorah had been allowed on the same grounds prior to the ruling. "What Ginsburg has said should give all Christians pause, especially Catholics. Her intolerance for our teachings and traditions is striking." Now I should say that I disagree with Justice Ginsburg's opinion in Pinnette, though not quite on the grounds Mr. Donohue urges. But what exactly is Donohue's beef with Ginsburg's position on the Mass? Ginsburg used to go to the Mass, presumably because she thought it was a nice gesture, and perhaps because she found it interesting. Then she heard a sermon she strongly disagreed with -- and, horror of horrors, decided to stop going to another religion's religious services! "Respect for diversity" doesn't mean that you have to listen to sermons that you think are wrongheaded. It's not "intoleran[t]." It's not disrespectful of diversity. It's a sign of diversity of opinions, a sign that Ginsburg is not a Catholic, and disagrees strongly with some Catholic views. What precisely is wrong with that? As to "imagin[ing] how it would go down in the Jewish community if a Catholic Supreme Court Justice were to say that he would never again attend a particular Jewish event because he had to endure a talk that was 'outrageously pro-abortion'" -- shouldn't be too hard. First, let's imagine a Catholic Supreme Court Justice going to a service at a synagogue; I can imagine that, though I'd think that would be pretty rare (perfectly understandable, since I'd expect Catholic Justices to prefer Catholic services to Jewish ones). Then, let's imagine that he heard the rabbi preach a sermon that he thought was "outrageously" pro-abortion-rights (presumably something more than just a mild expression of support); and that he then decided to quit going to a synagogue. How would Jews feel? How should Jews feel? I suppose they probably should, and would, think: Well, it's nice that he tried to be ecumenical, but I suppose he realized that there really are big gulfs between his religious/political views and our religious/political views, and that there's a reason why people usually go to religious services of their own faith (and their own twist on their own faith) rather than of other faiths. Thanks for coming, sorry you won't be back, guess we disagree on some things. Likewise as to Christmas wreaths. Ginsburg wasn't trying to ban Christmas wreaths. She wasn't berating someone for wishing her a Merry Christmas. She was trying to subtly convey the message that this is her office, and she wants it to reflect her own cultural identity (my understanding is that she is indeed nonobservant, and that Jewish is to her a cultural identity rather than a religious one) rather than someone else's cultural identity. This isn't even exactly "protest"; but in any event it's hardly "intolerance" to try to control which symbols are put on your own office door. There is sometimes genuine government discrimination against and intolerance towards religiosity, and sometimes against Christianity. I've criticized it in the past, on many occasions. Justice Stevens's and Ginsburg's dissents in Pinnette, I think, do represent such discrimination against religious speech, though not necessarily against Christian speech. But the other two examples are not remotely grounds for legitimate complaint. Donahue's complaints work only by turning personal disagreement with others' views, and assertion of one's own cultural identity, into "[dis]respect for diversity" or "intolerance" -- which is to say by sapping the concept of "intolerance" of any real meaning.