Roman Catholics are turning their anger against Vice President Kamala Harris on its head again after Democrats endorsed her to replace Catholic President Joe Biden as their 2024 presidential candidate.
“Kamala Harris hates what we believe,” Brian Burch, president of CatholicVote, said in a statement this week, recalling her attacks on a Catholic judge in 2018.
Harris at the time submitted written questions to Brian Buescher, a candidate for U.S. District Court Judge for the District of Nebraska, about his membership in the Knights of Columbus, a popular Catholic charity with more than two million members.
Harris called the Catholic group “an all-male community made up primarily of Catholic men” and questioned the group’s views, saying it opposed abortion and gay marriage.
Harris specifically wondered whether his membership in the group would enable him to judge these issues impartially in court.
Then-Senator Kamala Harris, D-Calif., speaks before the Senate on Capitol Hill
Buescher patiently replied that his membership in his parish group would not influence his statements
For most Catholics, that went too far. They described Harris’s questions as an unconstitutional “religious test” for serving in the legislative branch of government.
At that point, Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska responded sharply by introducing a Senate resolution specifically saying that disqualifying a nominee for the courts based on membership in the Knights of Columbus was unconstitutional. The resolution passed unanimously.
But the Catholics did not forget.
The issue was raised during the 2020 campaign by former Vice President Mike Pence in his debate with Harris, where he accused her of attacking a judicial nominee because of his Catholic faith.
Senator Kamala Harris attends funeral at Ebenezer Baptist Church
Kamala Harris took the pulpit in 2022 and spoke at a funeral service at Mount Olive Baptist Church in Buffalo
Harris responded in disbelief, describing herself as a believer who found it “offensive” to suggest she would attack someone for their faith.
Catholic activists are now arguing that Harris is unfit for the presidency, pointing to her efforts in the Senate.
“This is not only a gross form of anti-religious bigotry, it is also unconstitutional,” Burch said.
Harris’ likely nomination as the next presidential candidate puts her faith in the spotlight.
While Joe Biden claims to be a practicing Catholic and attends Mass weekly, Harris does not regularly attend public church services.
Harris describes herself as a Baptist. 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” who had strong ties to the black South.
She spoke about her faith during a visit to the National Baptist Convention in Houston in 2022.
“Faith teaches us that there is always a better future ahead of us and we have to keep moving forward to make that future a reality,” she said. “And to move forward, simply put, I’ve also learned and we all know this: Faith requires action.”
Harris’ Indian mother Shymala Gopalan Harris described Harris as someone who attended the Hindu temple in San Francisco.
“She performs all the rituals and says all the prayers in the temple,” she proudly told an Indian news outlet in 2004.
Vice President Kamala Harris watches a performance during a Diwali reception in the East Room of the White House
Kamala Harris and Dough Emhoff celebrate Chanukah
Today, Harris is a member of the Third Baptist Church of San Francisco.
Her husband Doug Emhoff is Jewish, and the couple celebrate Jewish holidays together in public.
However, Harris continues to nod to her Hindu background by celebrating the Indian festival of Diwali at the White House.