Judges and Christian Values

[Bradley S. Clanton]

Why is it so bad for voters to know that a candidate for judicial office
favors "Christian values."  As long as he doesn't promise (explicitly or
implicitly) that he will replace the law with those values, why is it be
inappropriate for voters to elect a person whose values they believe are
important?  (I am assuming, of course, that the "Christian values" slogan
was not intended by the candidate to distinguish himself from his Jewish
opponent.  I believe such a motivation would be improper, although probably
legal, and indeed would be inconsistent with Christian values.).

In other words, to the extent that the phrase "Christian values" has
meaning to voters, and to the extent that it enables them to chose men and
women they believe worthy to govern them, what's the problem?  What's the
difference between a judicial candiate saying he or she believes in
"Christian values," and a judicial candidate saying he or she volunteers at
the soup kitchen or with the Girl Scouts.  None of the assertions address
whether the candidate is qualified in terms of legal ability, but few
people would say that the latter two would be improper.