Will Obama have to pick a Protestant justice this time?

The announcement marks another step in the transformation of the American elite. Justice Stevens, who turns 90 later this month, is the only Protestant now on the court. Once entirely Protestant, the court now has six Catholics and two Jews. Among the top three candidates to succeed Justice Stevens, two are Jewish and one is Protestant…

The three known contenders are Solicitor General Elena Kagan, former dean of Harvard Law School, and two federal appeals court judges, Diane Wood of the Seventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago, and Merrick Garland of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Judge Garland and Ms. Kagan are Jewish; Judge Wood is Protestant.

Presidents often consider diversity in making choices for the court, though questions of experience, gender and race have been more prominent recently than religion.