Roman Catholics are reviving their grievances against Vice President Kamala Harris after Democrats rallied to her support to replace Catholic President Joe Biden as the 2024 presidential nominee.
‘Kamala Harris hates what we believe,’ CatholicVote President Brian Burch said in a statement this week, recalling her 2018 attacks against a Catholic judge.
At the time, Harris leveled several written questions to Brian Buescher, a nominee for the judgeship for the U.S. District Court for the District of Nebraska, questioning his membership in the Knights of Columbus, a popular parish Catholic fraternal charity group with over two million members.
Harris referred to the Catholic group as ‘an all-male society comprised primarily of Catholic men’ and questioned its beliefs opposing abortion and same sex marriage.
Primarily, Harris questioned whether his membership in the group would allow him to rule impartially on those issues in court.
Then-Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., speaks before the Senate on Capitol Hill
Buescher replied patiently that his membership in his parish group would not affect his rulings
That was a step too far for most Catholics, who described Harris’ questions as posing an unconstitutional ‘religious test’ to serve a position in the legislative branch of government.
At this time, Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska reacted sharply by introducing a Senate resolution that specifically said that disqualifying a nominee to the courts on the basis of membership in the Knights of Columbus violated the Constitution. The resolution passed unanimously.
But Catholics did not forget.
The issue was brought up during the 2020 campaign by former Vice President Mike Pence in his debate with Harris, as he accused her of attacking a judicial nominee because of his Catholic faith.
Sen. Kamala Harris attends a funeral at Ebenezer Baptist Church
Kamala Harris took the pulpit in 2022, speaking at a funeral service at Mount Olive Baptist Church in Buffalo
Harris responded with incredulity, describing herself as a person of faith who found it ‘insulting’ to suggest she would attack anyone for their faith.
Catholic activists now argue Harris is unfit for the presidency, citing her efforts in the Senate.
‘Not only is this a gross form of anti-religious bigotry, it’s also unconstitutional,’ Burch said.
Harris’ likely nomination as the new presidential candidate puts her faith into the spotlight.
While Joe Biden claims to be a practicing Catholic and attends Mass weekly, Harris does not attend public church services regularly.
Harris describes herself as a Baptist, as she recalls growing up and attending the 23rd Avenue Church of God in Oakland California with Regina Shelton, a family friend she describes as her ‘second mother,’ with strong connections to the black South.
She spoke about her faith during a 2022 visit to the National Baptist Convention in Houston.
‘Faith teaches us that a brighter future is always ahead and we must keep moving forward to realize that future,’ she said. ‘And to move forward, simply put, I also learned and we all know: Faith requires action.’
Harris’ Indian mother Shymala Gopalan Harris described Harris as attending the Hindu temple in San Francisco.
‘She performs all rituals and says all prayers at the temple,’ she said proudly to an Indian news outlet in 2004.
Vice President Kamala Harris watches a performance during a reception to celebrate Diwali in the East Room at the White House
Kamala Harris and Dough Emhoff celebrate Hanukkah
Today, Harris is a member of the Third Baptist Church of San Francisco.
Her husband Doug Emhoff is Jewish, and the couple publicly celebrates Jewish holidays together.
Harris still offers a nod to her Hindu heritage, however, celebrating the Indian holiday of Diwali at the White House.