Antonin Scalia (March 11, 1936-February 13, 2016) is a U.S. Supreme Court Justice, nominated in 1986 by President Ronald Reagan. He graduated from Harvard, 1960, and began practicing with a Cleveland law firm. In 1967, he began teaching at the University of Virginia Law School.
He served in both the Nixon and Ford administrations, being the Assistant Attorney General, 1971-77. He taught at the University of Chicago Law School, 1977-82; and was served as judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, 1982-86.
On April 9, 1996, in an address that gained national attention, Antonin Scalia spoke at the Mississippi College Law School. Pointing out that the word "cretin," or "fool" is derived from the French word for "Christian," he continued:
<Devout Christians are destined to be regarded as fools in modern society....We are fools for Christ's sake....We must pray for courage to endure the scorn of the sophisticated world....
The "wise" do not investigate such silliness....They do not believe....
One can be sophisticated and believe in God. Reason and intellect are not to be laid aside where matters of religion are concerned.> 1936AS001
<To be honest about it, that is the view of Christians taken by modern society....Surely those who adhere to all or most of these traditional Christian beliefs are to be regarded as simpleminded.> 1936AS002
<The "worldly wise" just will not have anything to do with miracles...[assuming] everything from the Easter morning to the Ascension had to be made us by the groveling enthusiasts as part of their plan to get themselves martyred.> 1936AS003
In the 1992 case of Lee v. Weisman; 120 L. Ed. 2d 467, 509 (1992), Scalia, J. (dissenting), Justice Antonin Scalia stated:
<The Court lays waste a longstanding American tradition of nonsectarian prayer to God at public celebrations....
There is simply no support for the proposition that the officially sponsored nondenominational invocation and benediction read by Rabbi Gutterman-with no one legally coerced to recite them-violated the Constitution of the United States.
To the contrary, they are so characteristically American they could have come from the pen of George Washington or Abraham Lincoln himself....
That obvious fact recited the graduates and their parents may proceed to thank God, as American have always done, for the blessings He has generously bestowed on them and their country.> 1936AS004
<Our Nation's protection, that fortress which is our Constitution, cannot possibly rest upon the changeable philosophical predilections of the Justices of this Court, but must have deep foundations in the historic practices of our people.> 1936AS005
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American Quotations by William J. Federer, 2024, All Rights Reserved, Permission granted to use with acknowledgement.
1936AS001. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Antonin Scalia. April 9, 1996, United States Supreme Court Justice, in an historic address at the Mississippi College School Law. Wesley Pruden, "A Kick in the Pants for the 'Fool for Christ,'" Washington Times, April 12, 1996, p. A4. Eileen Loh, "Supreme Court Justice: Don't Be Afraid to Be a Christian," Associated Press, April 9, 1996. James C. Dobson, Ph.D., Focus on the Family Newsletter, (Colorado Springs, CO: Focus on the Family, June 1996), p. 1. Gary L Bauer, Family Research Council Newsletter (Washington, D.C.: Family Research Council, May 15, 1996), p. 1.
1936AS002. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Antonin Scalia, April 9, 1996, United States Supreme Court Justice, in an historic address at the Mississippi College School Law. Tony Mauro and Beverly Pettigrew Kraft, "Justice Scalia Says Religion, Reason Do Mix," USA Today, April 10, 1996, p. 1A. Robert A. Sirico, "Scalia's Dissenting Opinion," The Wall Street Journal, April 19, 1996, A12. James C. Dobson, Ph.D., Focus on the Family Newsletter, (Colorado Springs, CO: Focus on the Family, June 1996), p. 1. Gary L Bauer, Family Research Council Newsletter (Washington, D.C.: Family Research Council, May 15, 1996), p. 2.
1936AS003. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Antonin Scalia, April 9, 1996, United States Supreme Court Justice, in an historic address at the Mississippi College School Law. Wesley Pruden, "A Kick in the Pants for the 'Fool for Christ,'" Washington Times, April 12, 1996, p. A4. Eileen Loh, "Supreme Court Justice: Don't Be Afraid to Be a Christian," Associated Press, April 9, 1996. James C. Dobson, Ph.D., Focus on the Family Newsletter, (Colorado Springs, CO: Focus on the Family, June 1996), p. 1. Gary L Bauer, Family Research Council Newsletter (Washington, D.C.: Family Research Council, May 15, 1996), p. 2. Clay Chandler, "Scalia's Religion Remarks: Just a Matter of Free Speech?" The Washington Post, April 15, 1996, p. F7. Robert A. Sirico, "Scalia's Dissenting Opinion," The Wall Street Journal, April 19, 1996, A12. James C. Dobson, Ph.D., Focus on the Family Newsletter, (Colorado Springs, CO: Focus on the Family, June 1996), p. 1. Gary L Bauer, Family Research Council Newsletter (Washington, D.C.: Family Research Council, May 15, 1996), p. 2.
1936AS004. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). United States Supreme Court, 1992, Lee v. Weisman, 112 S.Ct. 2649 (1992). Dissenting opinion given by Justice Antonin Scalia, joined by Chief Justice William Rehnquist, Justice Byron White and Justice Clarence Thomas. Eugene H. Methvin, "Let Us Pray" (Pleasantville, NY: Reader's Digest, The Reader's Digest Association, Inc., November 1992), pp. 75-79.
1936AS005. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Antonin Scalia, 1992, in the case of Lee v. Weisman; 120 L. Ed. 2d 467, 509 (1992), Scalia, J. (dissenting).