SCOTUS and the Strange Politics of the 'Sincere Believer'

John Ramirez is a sincere religious believer. On that, almost everyone agrees -- with one notable exception. On March 24, the Supreme Court handed down an 8-1 decision in Ramirez v. Collier that protected Ramirez's free exercise of religion. The decision allows Ramirez, who is on death row, to have his pastor lay hands on him and pray aloud while he is executed by the state of Texas. Clarence Thomas, the only justice to dissent, disagreed with nearly every point of the Court's decision, including their finding that Ramirez's beliefs are sincere. The Ramirez case raises a host of complex and crucial issues, from the theological to the mundane and procedural. Here, I want to zero in on what this case, and Thomas's dissent in particular, tells us about the status of the sincere believer today.